Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To Revise the ICC Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures, 13055-13057 [2015-05608]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 48 / Thursday, March 12, 2015 / Notices process and potentially generate additional investor interest in trading securities. The extension of the pilot period will allow the Commission and the Exchange to continue to monitor the Program for its potential effects on public price discovery, and on the broader market structure. B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Burden on Competition The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The proposed rule change simply extends an established pilot program for an additional six months, thus allowing the Retail Liquidity Program to enhance competition for retail order flow and contribute to the public price discovery process. C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change. asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action The Exchange has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 9 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.10 Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to 30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act and Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder. A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 11 normally does not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of the filing. However, pursuant to Rule 19b4(f)(6)(iii),12 the Commission may designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest. At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule change, the Commission summarily may 9 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii). CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 11 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 12 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii). 10 17 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:40 Mar 11, 2015 temporarily suspend such rule change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B) 13 of the Act to determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR–NYSE– 2015–10, and should be submitted on or before April 2, 2015. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.14 Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2015–05606 Filed 3–11–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 74456; File No. SR–ICC–2015– 002] Electronic Comments • Use the Commission’s Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/ rules/sro.shtml); or • Send an email to rule-comments@ sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– NYSE–2015–10 on the subject line. Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To Revise the ICC Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures Paper Comments • Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. All submissions should refer to File Number SR–NYSE–2015–10. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission’s Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/ rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in the Commission’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549 on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal offices of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does not edit personal I. Introduction 13 15 Jkt 235001 13055 PO 00000 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). Frm 00082 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 March 6, 2015. On January 6, 2015 ICE Clear Credit LLC (‘‘ICC’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change SR–ICC–2015–002 pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder.2 The proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on January 23, 2015.3 The Commission did not receive any comments. For the reasons discussed below, the Commission is approving the proposed rule change. II. Description of the Proposed Rule Change ICC has proposed revising its Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures to provide for the use of a Federal Reserve Account, to provide for the use of a committed repurchase (‘‘repo’’) facility and to provide for USD and Euro investment guidelines for use by outside investment managers. ICC has stated that it has applied for a Federal Reserve Account to hold both USD cash and US Treasuries and that, in its application, it requested separate accounts for house origin funds and customer origin funds. ICC has represented that, if it is approved for a 14 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 3 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–74084 (Jan. 16, 2015), 80 FR 3691 (January 23, 2015) (File No. SR–ICC–2015–002). 1 15 E:\FR\FM\12MRN1.SGM 12MRN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 13056 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 48 / Thursday, March 12, 2015 / Notices single account origin, it will utilize the Federal Reserve Accounts to hold house collateral, and customer collateral will continue to be held in commercial banks. ICC has represented that, if it is approved for an additional account origin, it will utilize the second origin to hold customer collateral at the Federal Reserve. ICC proposes to use the Federal Reserve Account(s) as a depository account, in which cash will be consolidated on a daily basis and held overnight. ICC will continue using its commercial bank accounts for Clearing Participant money movements, and the net excess/deficit will be deposited to/ withdrawn from the Federal Reserve cash Account as necessary. ICC proposes to use a Federal Reserve securities Account as a custody account to hold US Treasuries deposited by Clearing Participants with ICC’s commercial banks. Additionally, ICC has proposed revising its Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures to provide for use of a committed repo facility. ICC represents that it has established a committed repo facility that will allow ICC to consider US Treasury securities deposited at ICC as an additional qualifying liquidity resource, and the facility can be used to convert US Treasuries into cash when the sale of pledged securities needed for liquidity cannot be settled on a timely or same-day basis. Specifically, ICC represents that the facility is to be used to generate temporary liquidity through the sale and agreement to repurchase securities pledged by ICC Clearing Participants to satisfy their Initial Margin and Guaranty Fund requirements. According to ICC, the facility will include counterparties that are banks and/or broker dealers (which may include ICC Clearing Participants and/or their affiliates) that each provide a committed repo line to ICC, and committed repo will be subject to a haircut which will be the greater of 5% or the haircut that central banks employ for repo transactions using the same or similar purchased securities. Under ICC’s proposal, the committed repo facility can be used on an open or overnight basis. The open repo will be closed as soon as the ICC Treasury Department (‘‘ICC Treasury’’) can facilitate the sale and settlement of the securities involved in the repo transaction. USD repo will be settled delivery versus payment (‘‘DVP’’) on a bilateral basis. In order to initiate a committed repo transaction, ICC Treasury can send an email to the counterparty with a list of the securities that will be delivered. The counterparty will reply confirming the trade and VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:40 Mar 11, 2015 Jkt 235001 providing the ‘‘purchase amount’’ of the repo transaction. The purchase amount will be equal to the mark-to-market (‘‘MTM’’) of the securities less the haircut. The repo details will then be sent to ICC’s custodian for settlement. ICC Treasury will monitor bank activity to ensure settlement is complete. Once ICC Treasury has arranged for the ultimate sale of the securities involved in the repo transaction, it will close-out the repo transaction(s). Finally, ICC has proposed revising its Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures to provide for the engagement of outside investment managers to invest guaranty fund and margin cash pursuant to ICC’s USD and Euro investment guidelines. ICC has proposed extending its current investment guidelines set forth in in the ICC Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures to apply to outside investment managers. ICC represents that its cash investment guidelines for USD and Euro cash provide for the investment of cash in overnight reverse repo with high quality sovereign debt as collateral. Under ICC’s proposal, if the investment manager cannot place 100% of the allocated cash in overnight reverse repo, the investment guidelines permit the investment manager to make backup investments in term reverse repo and direct investment in high quality sovereign debt. With respect to Euro cash, ICC proposes that investment in reverse repo transactions and non-US sovereign debt will be utilized only with respect to house origin cash, and shall not be utilized with respect to customer origin cash pursuant to Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations. ICC’s proposed USD investment guidelines provide for use by outside investment managers with respect to USD cash that is not otherwise invested pursuant to the ICC Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures. ICC represents that these revisions to the Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures do not require any operational changes. III. Discussion and Commission Findings Section 19(b)(2)(C) of the Act 4 directs the Commission to approve a proposed rule change of a self-regulatory organization if the Commission finds that such proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to such selfregulatory organization. Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act 5 requires, among 4 15 5 15 PO 00000 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(C). U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). Frm 00083 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 other things, that the rules of a clearing agency are designed to promote the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of securities transactions and, to the extent applicable, derivative agreements, contracts, and transactions, to assure the safeguarding of securities and funds which are in the custody or control of the clearing agency or for which it is responsible and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. The Commission finds that ICC’s proposed revisions to its Treasury Operations Policies & Procedures is consistent with the requirements of Section 17A of the Act 6 and regulations thereunder applicable to it, including the standards under Rule 17Ad–22.7 The proposed rule change is designed to facilitate use of Federal Reserve accounts, authorize an additional liquidity resource and authorize use of an outside investment manager to invest guaranty fund and margin cash pursuant to ICC’s investment guidelines. The Commission believes that the proposal is designed to promote the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of securities transactions and derivative agreements, contracts and transactions cleared by ICC, assure the safeguarding of securities and funds which are in the custody or control of the clearing agency or for which it is responsible and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest, consistent with Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act.8 Further, the Commission believes that the proposal is reasonably designed to enhance ICC’s ability to hold assets in a manner that minimizes risk of loss or of delay in its access to them and invest assets with minimal credit, market and liquidity risks, consistent with Rule 17Ad– 22(d)(3).9 IV. Conclusion On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission finds that the proposal is consistent with the requirements of the Act and in particular with the requirements of Section 17A of the Act 10 and the rules and regulations thereunder. It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,11 that the proposed rule change (SR–ICC–2015– 002) be, and hereby is, approved.12 6 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. CFR 240.17Ad–22. 8 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 9 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(d)(3). 10 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 11 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 12 In approving the proposed rule change, the Commission considered the proposal’s impact on efficiency, competition and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 7 17 E:\FR\FM\12MRN1.SGM 12MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 48 / Thursday, March 12, 2015 / Notices For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.13 Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2015–05608 Filed 3–11–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Investment Company Act Release No. 31498; 812–14417] American Beacon NextShares Trust, et al.; Notice of Application March 6, 2015. Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’). ACTION: Notice of an application for an order under section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (‘‘Act’’) for an exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d) and 22(e) of the Act and rule 22c–1 under the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and (a)(2) of the Act, and under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act for an exemption from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act. asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: Applicants: American Beacon NextShares Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’), American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the ‘‘Manager’’) and Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the ‘‘Distributor’’). Summary of Application: Applicants request an order (‘‘Order’’) that permits: (a) Actively managed series of certain open-end management investment companies to issue shares (‘‘Shares’’) redeemable in large aggregations only (‘‘Creation Units’’); (b) secondary market transactions in Shares to occur at the next-determined net asset value plus or minus a market-determined premium or discount that may vary during the trading day; (c) certain series to pay redemption proceeds, under certain circumstances, more than seven days from the tender of Shares for redemption; (d) certain affiliated persons of the series to deposit securities into, and receive securities from, the series in connection with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units; (e) certain registered management investment companies and unit investment trusts outside of the same group of investment companies as the series to acquire Shares; and (f) certain series to create and redeem Shares in kind in a master-feeder structure. The Order would incorporate by reference terms and conditions of a previous order 13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:40 Mar 11, 2015 Jkt 235001 granting the same relief sought by applicants, as that order may be amended from time to time (‘‘Reference Order’’).1 Filing Dates: The application was filed on January 15, 2015, and amended on February 23, 2015. Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission’s Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 5:30 p.m. on March 31, 2015, and should be accompanied by proof of service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate of service. Pursuant to rule 0–5 under the Act, hearing requests should state the nature of the writer’s interest, any facts bearing upon the desirability of a hearing on the matter, the reason for the request, and the issues contested. Persons who wish to be notified of a hearing may request notification by writing to the Commission’s Secretary. ADDRESSES: The Commission: Brent J. Fields, Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. Applicants: American Beacon NextShares Trust and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, TX 75039, and Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101. 13057 Fund will consist of securities and other assets selected and managed by its Manager or Subadviser (as defined below) to pursue the Fund’s investment objective. 2. The Manager, a Delaware corporation, will be the investment manager to the Initial Funds. A Manager (as defined below) will serve as investment manager to each Fund. The Manager is, and any other Manager will be, registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (‘‘Advisers Act’’). The Manager and the Trust may retain one or more subadvisers (each a ‘‘Subadviser’’) to manage the portfolios of the Funds. Any Subadviser will be registered, or not subject to registration, under the Advisers Act. 3. The Distributor is a Delaware limited liability company and a brokerdealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and will act as the principal underwriter of Shares of the Funds. Applicants request that the requested relief apply to any distributor of Shares, whether affiliated or unaffiliated with the Manager (included in the term ‘‘Distributor’’). Any Distributor will comply with the terms and conditions of the Order. 1. The Trust will be registered as an open-end management investment company under the Act and is a business trust organized under the laws of Massachusetts. Applicants seek relief with respect to five Funds (as defined below, and those Funds, the ‘‘Initial Funds’’). The portfolio positions of each Applicants’ Requested Exemptive Relief 4. Applicants seek the requested Order under section 6(c) of the Act for an exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d) and 22(e) of the Act and rule 22c–1 under the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act, and under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act for an exemption from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act. The requested Order would permit applicants to offer exchange-traded managed funds. Because the relief requested is the same as the relief granted by the Commission under the Reference Order and because the Manager has entered into, or anticipates entering into, a licensing agreement with Eaton Vance Management, or an affiliate thereof in order to offer exchange-traded managed funds,2 the Order would incorporate by reference the terms and conditions of the Reference Order. 5. Applicants request that the Order apply to the Initial Funds and to any other existing or future open-end management investment company or series thereof that: (a) Is advised by the Manager or any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control 1 Eaton Vance Management, et al., Investment Company Act Rel. Nos. 31333 (Nov. 6, 2014) (notice) and 31361 (Dec. 2, 2014) (order). 2 Eaton Vance Management has obtained patents with respect to certain aspects of the Funds’ method of operation as exchange-traded managed funds. Jean E. Minarick, Senior Counsel, or Daniele Marchesani, Branch Chief, at (202) 551– 6821 (Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel’s Office). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the application. The complete application may be obtained via the Commission’s Web site by searching for the file number, or for an applicant using the Company name box, at https:// www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or by calling (202) 551–8090. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Applicants PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\12MRN1.SGM 12MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 48 (Thursday, March 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13055-13057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05608]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 74456; File No. SR-ICC-2015-002]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Order 
Approving Proposed Rule Change To Revise the ICC Treasury Operations 
Policies and Procedures

March 6, 2015.

I. Introduction

    On January 6, 2015 ICE Clear Credit LLC (``ICC'') filed with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule 
change SR-ICC-2015-002 pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder.\2\ The 
proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register 
on January 23, 2015.\3\ The Commission did not receive any comments. 
For the reasons discussed below, the Commission is approving the 
proposed rule change.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-74084 (Jan. 16, 
2015), 80 FR 3691 (January 23, 2015) (File No. SR-ICC-2015-002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Description of the Proposed Rule Change

    ICC has proposed revising its Treasury Operations Policies and 
Procedures to provide for the use of a Federal Reserve Account, to 
provide for the use of a committed repurchase (``repo'') facility and 
to provide for USD and Euro investment guidelines for use by outside 
investment managers.
    ICC has stated that it has applied for a Federal Reserve Account to 
hold both USD cash and US Treasuries and that, in its application, it 
requested separate accounts for house origin funds and customer origin 
funds. ICC has represented that, if it is approved for a

[[Page 13056]]

single account origin, it will utilize the Federal Reserve Accounts to 
hold house collateral, and customer collateral will continue to be held 
in commercial banks. ICC has represented that, if it is approved for an 
additional account origin, it will utilize the second origin to hold 
customer collateral at the Federal Reserve.
    ICC proposes to use the Federal Reserve Account(s) as a depository 
account, in which cash will be consolidated on a daily basis and held 
overnight. ICC will continue using its commercial bank accounts for 
Clearing Participant money movements, and the net excess/deficit will 
be deposited to/withdrawn from the Federal Reserve cash Account as 
necessary. ICC proposes to use a Federal Reserve securities Account as 
a custody account to hold US Treasuries deposited by Clearing 
Participants with ICC's commercial banks.
    Additionally, ICC has proposed revising its Treasury Operations 
Policies and Procedures to provide for use of a committed repo 
facility. ICC represents that it has established a committed repo 
facility that will allow ICC to consider US Treasury securities 
deposited at ICC as an additional qualifying liquidity resource, and 
the facility can be used to convert US Treasuries into cash when the 
sale of pledged securities needed for liquidity cannot be settled on a 
timely or same-day basis. Specifically, ICC represents that the 
facility is to be used to generate temporary liquidity through the sale 
and agreement to repurchase securities pledged by ICC Clearing 
Participants to satisfy their Initial Margin and Guaranty Fund 
requirements. According to ICC, the facility will include 
counterparties that are banks and/or broker dealers (which may include 
ICC Clearing Participants and/or their affiliates) that each provide a 
committed repo line to ICC, and committed repo will be subject to a 
haircut which will be the greater of 5% or the haircut that central 
banks employ for repo transactions using the same or similar purchased 
securities.
    Under ICC's proposal, the committed repo facility can be used on an 
open or overnight basis. The open repo will be closed as soon as the 
ICC Treasury Department (``ICC Treasury'') can facilitate the sale and 
settlement of the securities involved in the repo transaction. USD repo 
will be settled delivery versus payment (``DVP'') on a bilateral basis. 
In order to initiate a committed repo transaction, ICC Treasury can 
send an email to the counterparty with a list of the securities that 
will be delivered. The counterparty will reply confirming the trade and 
providing the ``purchase amount'' of the repo transaction. The purchase 
amount will be equal to the mark-to-market (``MTM'') of the securities 
less the haircut. The repo details will then be sent to ICC's custodian 
for settlement. ICC Treasury will monitor bank activity to ensure 
settlement is complete. Once ICC Treasury has arranged for the ultimate 
sale of the securities involved in the repo transaction, it will close-
out the repo transaction(s).
    Finally, ICC has proposed revising its Treasury Operations Policies 
and Procedures to provide for the engagement of outside investment 
managers to invest guaranty fund and margin cash pursuant to ICC's USD 
and Euro investment guidelines. ICC has proposed extending its current 
investment guidelines set forth in in the ICC Treasury Operations 
Policies and Procedures to apply to outside investment managers. ICC 
represents that its cash investment guidelines for USD and Euro cash 
provide for the investment of cash in overnight reverse repo with high 
quality sovereign debt as collateral. Under ICC's proposal, if the 
investment manager cannot place 100% of the allocated cash in overnight 
reverse repo, the investment guidelines permit the investment manager 
to make backup investments in term reverse repo and direct investment 
in high quality sovereign debt. With respect to Euro cash, ICC proposes 
that investment in reverse repo transactions and non-US sovereign debt 
will be utilized only with respect to house origin cash, and shall not 
be utilized with respect to customer origin cash pursuant to Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission regulations. ICC's proposed USD investment 
guidelines provide for use by outside investment managers with respect 
to USD cash that is not otherwise invested pursuant to the ICC Treasury 
Operations Policies and Procedures. ICC represents that these revisions 
to the Treasury Operations Policies and Procedures do not require any 
operational changes.

III. Discussion and Commission Findings

    Section 19(b)(2)(C) of the Act \4\ directs the Commission to 
approve a proposed rule change of a self-regulatory organization if the 
Commission finds that such proposed rule change is consistent with the 
requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder 
applicable to such self-regulatory organization. Section 17A(b)(3)(F) 
of the Act \5\ requires, among other things, that the rules of a 
clearing agency are designed to promote the prompt and accurate 
clearance and settlement of securities transactions and, to the extent 
applicable, derivative agreements, contracts, and transactions, to 
assure the safeguarding of securities and funds which are in the 
custody or control of the clearing agency or for which it is 
responsible and, in general, to protect investors and the public 
interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(C).
    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(F).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission finds that ICC's proposed revisions to its Treasury 
Operations Policies & Procedures is consistent with the requirements of 
Section 17A of the Act \6\ and regulations thereunder applicable to it, 
including the standards under Rule 17Ad-22.\7\ The proposed rule change 
is designed to facilitate use of Federal Reserve accounts, authorize an 
additional liquidity resource and authorize use of an outside 
investment manager to invest guaranty fund and margin cash pursuant to 
ICC's investment guidelines. The Commission believes that the proposal 
is designed to promote the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement 
of securities transactions and derivative agreements, contracts and 
transactions cleared by ICC, assure the safeguarding of securities and 
funds which are in the custody or control of the clearing agency or for 
which it is responsible and, in general, to protect investors and the 
public interest, consistent with Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act.\8\ 
Further, the Commission believes that the proposal is reasonably 
designed to enhance ICC's ability to hold assets in a manner that 
minimizes risk of loss or of delay in its access to them and invest 
assets with minimal credit, market and liquidity risks, consistent with 
Rule 17Ad-22(d)(3).\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1.
    \7\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22.
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(F).
    \9\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22(d)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Conclusion

    On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission finds that the 
proposal is consistent with the requirements of the Act and in 
particular with the requirements of Section 17A of the Act \10\ and the 
rules and regulations thereunder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the 
Act,\11\ that the proposed rule change (SR-ICC-2015-002) be, and hereby 
is, approved.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
    \12\ In approving the proposed rule change, the Commission 
considered the proposal's impact on efficiency, competition and 
capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).


[[Page 13057]]


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    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\13\
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 2015-05608 Filed 3-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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