Options Price Reporting Authority; Order Approving an Amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and Quotation Information To Amend OPRA's Definition of the term “Nonprofessional”, 72219-72220 [2014-28546]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices
6 (17 CFR 240.15c1–6) under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (Exchange Act).
Rule 15c1–6 states that any brokerdealer trying to sell to or buy from a
customer a security in a primary or
secondary distribution in which the
broker-dealer is participating or is
otherwise financially interested must
give the customer written notification of
the broker-dealer’s participation or
interest at or before completion of the
transaction. The Commission estimates
that 446 respondents collect information
annually under Rule 15c1–6 and that
each respondent would spend
approximately 10 hours annually
complying with the collection of
information requirement (approximately
4,460 hours in aggregate).
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
under the PRA unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Background documentation for this
information collection may be viewed at
the following Web site:
www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be
directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the
Securities and Exchange Commission,
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Room 10102, New Executive
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503
or by sending an email to: Shagufta_
Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela
Dyson, Acting Director/Chief
Information Officer, Securities and
Exchange Commission, c/o Remi PavlikSimon, 100 F Street NE., Washington,
DC 20549, or by sending an email to
PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must
be submitted within 30 days of this
notice.
Dated: December 1, 2014.
Kevin M. O’Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–28549 Filed 12–4–14; 8:45 am]
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
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15:07 Dec 04, 2014
Jkt 235001
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–73712; File No. SR–OPRA–
2014–03]
Options Price Reporting Authority;
Order Approving an Amendment to the
Plan for Reporting of Consolidated
Options Last Sale Reports and
Quotation Information To Amend
OPRA’s Definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional’’
December 1, 2014.
I. Introduction
On March 11, 2014, the Options Price
Reporting Authority (‘‘OPRA’’)
submitted to the Securities and
Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’),
pursuant to Section 11A of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 608 thereunder,2 an
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of
Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports
and Quotation Information (‘‘OPRA
Plan’’).3 The proposed OPRA Plan
amendment would revise the definition
of the term ‘‘Nonprofessional.’’ The
proposed OPRA Plan amendment was
published for comment in the Federal
Register on August 18, 2014.4 The
Commission received no comment
letters in response to the Notice.
This order approves the proposed
OPRA Plan amendment.
II. Description of the Proposal
The purpose of the proposed
amendment is to revise the definition of
the term ‘‘Nonprofessional’’ as that term
is used in the ‘‘Addendum for
Nonprofessionals’’ that is attached to
OPRA’s Electronic Form of Subscriber
Agreement and its Hardcopy Form of
Subscriber Agreement.5
1 15
U.S.C. 78k–1.
CFR 242.608.
3 The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan
approved by the Commission pursuant to Section
11A of the Act and Rule 608 thereunder. See
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (March
18, 1981), 22 SE.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 1981).
The full text of the OPRA Plan is available at
https://www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan provides
for the collection and dissemination of last sale and
quotation information on options that are traded on
the participant exchanges. The twelve participants
to the OPRA Plan are BATS Exchange, Inc., BOX
Options Exchange, LLC, Chicago Board Options
Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange,
Incorporated, International Securities Exchange,
LLC, Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC,
NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX
LLC, NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE MKT LLC,
NYSE Arca, Inc., and Topaz Exchange, LLC (d/b/
a ISE Gemini).
4 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72824
(August 12, 2014), 79 FR 48780 (‘‘Notice’’).
5 These two forms are Attachments B–1 and
B–2 to OPRA’s Form of Vendor Agreement and they
are available on OPRA’s Web site at
www.opradata.com.
2 17
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Frm 00056
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72219
Paragraph (c) of OPRA’s current
definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional’’ specifies that to
qualify as a ‘‘Nonprofessional’’ a person
must not be: ‘‘(i) registered or qualified
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the Commodities Futures
Trading Commission, any state
securities agency, any securities
exchange/association, or any
commodities/futures contract market/
association, (ii) engaged as an
‘‘investment adviser,’’ as that term is
defined in the Investment Advisers Act
of 1940 (whether or not registered or
qualified under that Act); or (iii)
employed by a bank or other
organization exempt from registration
under Federal and/or state securities
laws to perform functions that would
require you to be so registered or
qualified if you were to perform such
functions for an organization not so
exempt.’’ According to OPRA, a literal
reading of this language could lead to
the conclusion that a person who works
outside of the United States as (for
example) a securities broker could
qualify as a ‘‘Nonprofessional,’’ because
the person is not covered by clauses (i),
(ii) or (iii) of Paragraph (c).
OPRA is not aware of any instances in
which an OPRA Vendor has determined
that Subscribers who work outside the
United States qualify to be
Nonprofessional Subscribers on the
basis of reading the definition of the
term ‘‘Nonprofessional’’ in this
manner.6 However, OPRA believes that
it is appropriate to modify the language
to prevent such a reading. Accordingly,
OPRA proposes to modify the current
definition by adding a phrase at the
beginning of paragraph (c) to clarify that
the current language applies to persons
who work in the United States and
adding a sentence to paragraph (c) to say
that ‘‘For a natural person who works
outside of the United States, a
‘Professional’ is a natural person who
performs the same functions as someone
who would be considered a
‘Professional’ in the United States.’’
III. Discussion
After careful review, the Commission
finds that the proposed OPRA Plan
amendment is consistent with the
requirements of the Act and the rules
and regulations thereunder.7
6 According to OPRA, the definition of the term
‘‘Nonprofessional Subscriber’’ used by the
Consolidated Tape Association (‘‘CTA’’), which is
substantively similar to OPRA’s definition in almost
all respects, prevents a similar reading of its
definition.
7 In approving this proposed OPRA Plan
Amendment, the Commission has considered its
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices
Specifically, the Commission finds that
the proposed OPRA Plan amendment is
consistent with Section 11A of the Act 8
and Rule 608 thereunder 9 in that it is
appropriate in the public interest, for
the protection of investors and the
maintenance of fair and orderly markets,
and to remove impediments to, and
perfect the mechanisms of, a national
market system. The proposed change to
the definition of the term
Nonprofessional is designed to clarify
that the term is meant to apply to
persons engaged in the same type of
business whether they are located in the
United States or elsewhere. The
Commission believes that OPRA’s
proposal is consistent with Section 11A
of the Act 10 and Rule 608 thereunder 11
because the proposal is designed to add
clarity to OPRA’s existing term and
should therefore help to avoid investor
confusion. In addition, the Commission
notes that the proposed revisions to the
term ‘‘Nonprofessional’’ will make the
term used by OPRA consistent with the
similar term used by CTA.
IV. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
Section 11A of the Act,12 and Rule 608
thereunder,13 that the proposed OPRA
Plan amendment (SR–OPRA–2014–03)
be, and it hereby is, approved.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.14
Kevin M. O’Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–28546 Filed 12–4–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–73711; File No. SR–OPRA–
2013–03]
Options Price Reporting Authority;
Order Approving an Amendment to the
Plan for Reporting of Consolidated
Options Last Sale Reports and
Quotation Information To Amend
Sections 5.4 and 7.1 of the OPRA Plan
December 1, 2014.
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
I. Introduction
On October 21, 2013, the Options
Price Reporting Authority (‘‘OPRA’’)
impact on efficiency, competition, and capital
formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
8 15 U.S.C. 78k–1.
9 17 CFR 242.608.
10 15 U.S.C. 78k–1.
11 17 CFR 242.608.
12 15 U.S.C. 78k–1.
13 17 CFR 242.608.
14 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(29).
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submitted to the Securities and
Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’),
pursuant to Section 11A of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 608 thereunder,2 an
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of
Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports
and Quotation Information (‘‘OPRA
Plan’’).3 The proposed OPRA Plan
amendment would modify Sections 5.4
and 7.1 of the OPRA Plan as they relate
to operations of OPRA outside of
OPRA’s regular hours of operations.4
The proposed OPRA Plan amendment
was published for comment in the
Federal Register on August 18, 2014.5
The Commission received no comment
letters in response to the Notice.
This order approves the proposed
OPRA Plan amendment.
II. Description of the Proposal
The purpose of the proposed
amendment is to (1) amend the OPRA
Plan so that it provides for the
aggregation of costs for operations of
OPRA outside of its regular hours of
operations (‘‘after-hours operations’’)
with costs for operations of OPRA
during its regular hours of operations
(‘‘regular-hours operations’’); and (2)
state expressly that OPRA may establish
separate fees for access to OPRA data
during periods of after-hours
operations.6
Currently, the OPRA Plan provides
that the costs of OPRA’s after-hour
1 15
U.S.C. 78k–1.
CFR 242.608.
3 The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan
approved by the Commission pursuant to Section
11A of the Act and Rule 608 thereunder. See
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (March
18, 1981), 22 SE.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 1981).
The full text of the OPRA Plan is available at
https://www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan provides
for the collection and dissemination of last sale and
quotation information on options that are traded on
the participant exchanges. The twelve participants
to the OPRA Plan are BATS Exchange, Inc., BOX
Options Exchange, LLC, Chicago Board Options
Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange,
Incorporated, International Securities Exchange,
LLC, Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC,
NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX
LLC, NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE MKT LLC,
NYSE Arca, Inc., and Topaz Exchange, LLC (d/b/
a ISE Gemini).
4 OPRA’s regular hours of operations are from
7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern time. See Section 5.3
of the OPRA Plan.
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72820
(August 12, 2014), 79 FR 48779 (‘‘Notice’’).
6 OPRA does not currently operate outside of its
regular hours of operations. However, according to
OPRA, one of its member exchanges has indicated
that it is planning to initiate after-hours trading and
requested that OPRA operate during the after-hours
period when its market will be open for trading.
The current OPRA Plan provides that the OPRA
System will operate outside of its regular hours of
operation at the request of any one or more of its
member exchanges. See Section 5.3 of the OPRA
Plan. OPRA is not proposing any changes to Section
5.3 of the OPRA Plan.
2 17
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
operations are to be allocated separately
from the costs of OPRA’s regular-hour
operations and in a somewhat different
manner. The OPRA Plan currently
provides that the costs of OPRA’s
regular-hour operations below a
specified ceiling 7 and OPRA’s revenues
from regular-hour operations are both to
be allocated among the OPRA member
exchanges on the basis of the relative
number of compared trades in options
contracts traded on each of the OPRA
member exchanges.8
The current provisions of the OPRA
Plan state that, if the OPRA System
operates outside of OPRA’s regular
hours, any costs attributable to such
operation will be allocated to the
exchange or exchanges that are actually
operating during the after-hours period.
The OPRA Plan does not make any
special provision for the allocation of
revenues derived from fees for access to
OPRA data generated in the course of
after-hours operations, and the OPRA
Plan therefore provides that these
revenues will be allocated among the
OPRA member exchanges in the same
way that revenues derived from regularhours operations are allocated. The
result is that the OPRA Plan currently
provides for the allocation of costs of
after-hours trading only to the exchange
or exchanges that are actually operating
during the after-hours period, but for the
allocation of revenues resulting from
fees for access to quotation and last sale
information generated in the course of
after-hours operations to all of the
OPRA member exchanges on the basis
of the relative number of compared
trades in options contracts traded on
each of the OPRA member exchanges in
trading during both regular hours and
outside of regular hours.
OPRA is therefore proposing to revise
the OPRA Plan to provide that the costs
of after-hours operations will be
aggregated with the costs of operating
the OPRA System during regular hours
of operation. As a result of the proposed
change, the aggregated costs of operating
the System during all hours of operation
would be allocated among all of OPRA’s
member exchanges, regardless of
whether any particular exchange
operates its market outside of regular
hours.
In addition, OPRA’s Fee Schedule
does not currently provide specific fees
for access to OPRA data during periods
7 Clause 7.1(a)(iii)(2) of the OPRA Plan provides
that costs above a ‘‘specified ceiling’’ are to be
allocated in accordance with OPRA’s Capacity
Guidelines. The ‘‘ceiling’’ is described in Guideline
7 of the Capacity Guidelines. OPRA is not
proposing any changes in the allocation of costs as
described in the Capacity Guidelines.
8 See Section 7.1 of the OPRA Plan.
E:\FR\FM\05DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 234 (Friday, December 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72219-72220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28546]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-73712; File No. SR-OPRA-2014-03]
Options Price Reporting Authority; Order Approving an Amendment
to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and
Quotation Information To Amend OPRA's Definition of the term
``Nonprofessional''
December 1, 2014.
I. Introduction
On March 11, 2014, the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'')
submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission''),
pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ an amendment to the Plan for
Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and Quotation
Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The proposed OPRA Plan amendment would
revise the definition of the term ``Nonprofessional.'' The proposed
OPRA Plan amendment was published for comment in the Federal Register
on August 18, 2014.\4\ The Commission received no comment letters in
response to the Notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
\2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
\3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608
thereunder. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (March 18,
1981), 22 SE.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 1981). The full text of the
OPRA Plan is available at https://www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan
provides for the collection and dissemination of last sale and
quotation information on options that are traded on the participant
exchanges. The twelve participants to the OPRA Plan are BATS
Exchange, Inc., BOX Options Exchange, LLC, Chicago Board Options
Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated,
International Securities Exchange, LLC, Miami International
Securities Exchange, LLC, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC,
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE MKT LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., and Topaz
Exchange, LLC (d/b/a ISE Gemini).
\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72824 (August 12,
2014), 79 FR 48780 (``Notice'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This order approves the proposed OPRA Plan amendment.
II. Description of the Proposal
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to revise the definition
of the term ``Nonprofessional'' as that term is used in the ``Addendum
for Nonprofessionals'' that is attached to OPRA's Electronic Form of
Subscriber Agreement and its Hardcopy Form of Subscriber Agreement.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ These two forms are Attachments B-1 and B-2 to OPRA's Form
of Vendor Agreement and they are available on OPRA's Web site at
www.opradata.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paragraph (c) of OPRA's current definition of the term
``Nonprofessional'' specifies that to qualify as a ``Nonprofessional''
a person must not be: ``(i) registered or qualified with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission,
any state securities agency, any securities exchange/association, or
any commodities/futures contract market/association, (ii) engaged as an
``investment adviser,'' as that term is defined in the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940 (whether or not registered or qualified under that
Act); or (iii) employed by a bank or other organization exempt from
registration under Federal and/or state securities laws to perform
functions that would require you to be so registered or qualified if
you were to perform such functions for an organization not so exempt.''
According to OPRA, a literal reading of this language could lead to the
conclusion that a person who works outside of the United States as (for
example) a securities broker could qualify as a ``Nonprofessional,''
because the person is not covered by clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of
Paragraph (c).
OPRA is not aware of any instances in which an OPRA Vendor has
determined that Subscribers who work outside the United States qualify
to be Nonprofessional Subscribers on the basis of reading the
definition of the term ``Nonprofessional'' in this manner.\6\ However,
OPRA believes that it is appropriate to modify the language to prevent
such a reading. Accordingly, OPRA proposes to modify the current
definition by adding a phrase at the beginning of paragraph (c) to
clarify that the current language applies to persons who work in the
United States and adding a sentence to paragraph (c) to say that ``For
a natural person who works outside of the United States, a
`Professional' is a natural person who performs the same functions as
someone who would be considered a `Professional' in the United
States.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ According to OPRA, the definition of the term
``Nonprofessional Subscriber'' used by the Consolidated Tape
Association (``CTA''), which is substantively similar to OPRA's
definition in almost all respects, prevents a similar reading of its
definition.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Discussion
After careful review, the Commission finds that the proposed OPRA
Plan amendment is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the
rules and regulations thereunder.\7\
[[Page 72220]]
Specifically, the Commission finds that the proposed OPRA Plan
amendment is consistent with Section 11A of the Act \8\ and Rule 608
thereunder \9\ in that it is appropriate in the public interest, for
the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly
markets, and to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a
national market system. The proposed change to the definition of the
term Nonprofessional is designed to clarify that the term is meant to
apply to persons engaged in the same type of business whether they are
located in the United States or elsewhere. The Commission believes that
OPRA's proposal is consistent with Section 11A of the Act \10\ and Rule
608 thereunder \11\ because the proposal is designed to add clarity to
OPRA's existing term and should therefore help to avoid investor
confusion. In addition, the Commission notes that the proposed
revisions to the term ``Nonprofessional'' will make the term used by
OPRA consistent with the similar term used by CTA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ In approving this proposed OPRA Plan Amendment, the
Commission has considered its impact on efficiency, competition, and
capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
\8\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
\9\ 17 CFR 242.608.
\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
\11\ 17 CFR 242.608.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 11A of the Act,\12\
and Rule 608 thereunder,\13\ that the proposed OPRA Plan amendment (SR-
OPRA-2014-03) be, and it hereby is, approved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
\13\ 17 CFR 242.608.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-28546 Filed 12-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
