Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Fees Assessed Under NASDAQ Rule 7016(a), 15644-15646 [2015-06620]
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15644
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 56 / Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / Notices
of the Commission to represent the
interests of the general public in this
proceeding (Public Representative).
3. Comments are due no later than
March 25, 2015.
4. The Secretary shall arrange for
publication of this order in the Federal
Register.
By the Commission.
Shoshana M. Grove,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–06657 Filed 3–23–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. CP2015–52; Order No. 2397]
New Postal Product
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Commission is noticing a
recent Postal Service filing concerning
notice to enter into an additional
International Business Reply Service
Competitive Contract 3 negotiated
service agreement. This notice informs
the public of the filing, invites public
comment, and takes other
administrative steps.
DATES: Comments are due: March 25,
2015.
SUMMARY:
Submit comments
electronically via the Commission’s
Filing Online system at https://
www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit
comments electronically should contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section by
telephone for advice on filing
alternatives.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
On March 16, 2015, the Postal Service
filed notice that it has entered into an
additional International Business Reply
Service Competitive Contract 3 (IBRS 3)
negotiated service agreement
(Agreement).1
To support its Notice, the Postal
Service filed a copy of the Agreement,
a copy of the Governors’ Decision
1 Notice of the United States Postal Service Filing
of a Functionally Equivalent International Business
Reply Service Competitive Contract 3 Negotiated
Service Agreement, March 16, 2015 (Notice).
Jkt 235001
By the Commission.
Shoshana M. Grove,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–06602 Filed 3–23–15; 8:45 am]
March 20, 2015.
It appears to the Securities and
Exchange Commission that there is a
lack of current and accurate information
concerning the securities of ChitrChatr
Communications Inc. because of
questions regarding recent volatile
trading activity and questions regarding
the adequacy and accuracy of
information in a company press release
dated January 21, 2015 relating to the
company’s financing and the source of
that financing. ChitrChatr
PO 00000
Frm 00097
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
By the Commission.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
It is ordered:
1. The Commission establishes Docket
No. CP2015–52 for consideration of the
matters raised by the Postal Service’s
Notice.
2. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505,
Lyudmila Y. Bzhilyanskaya is appointed
to serve as an officer of the Commission
to represent the interests of the general
public in this proceeding (Public
Representative).
3. Comments are due no later than
March 25, 2015.
4. The Secretary shall arrange for
publication of this order in the Federal
Register.
In the Matter of ChitrChatr
Communications Inc.; Order of
Suspension of Trading
I. Introduction
Communications Inc. is a British
Columbia corporation with its principal
place of business located in Calgary,
Alberta. Its stock is quoted on OTC
Link, operated by OTC Markets Group
Inc., under the ticker: CHICF.
The Commission is of the opinion that
the public interest and the protection of
investors require a suspension of trading
in the securities of the above-listed
company.
Therefore, it is ordered, pursuant to
Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, that trading in the
securities of the above-listed company is
suspended for the period from 9:30 a.m.
EDT on March 20, 2015, through 11:59
p.m. EDT on April 2, 2015.
[FR Doc. 2015–06796 Filed 3–20–15; 11:15 am]
III. Ordering Paragraphs
[File No. 500–1]
I. Introduction
II. Notice of Commission Action
III. Ordering Paragraphs
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
The Commission establishes Docket
No. CP2015–52 for consideration of
matters raised by the Notice.
The Commission invites comments on
whether the Postal Service’s filing is
consistent with 39 U.S.C. 3632, 3633, or
3642, 39 CFR part 3015, and 39 CFR
part 3020, subpart B. Comments are due
no later than March 25, 2015. The
public portions of the filing can be
accessed via the Commission’s Web site
(https://www.prc.gov).
The Commission appoints Lyudmila
Y. Bzhilyanskaya to serve as Public
Representative in this docket.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Table of Contents
01:09 Mar 24, 2015
II. Notice of Commission Action
BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P
David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at
202–789–6820.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
authorizing the product, a certification
of compliance with 39 U.S.C. 3633(a),
and an application for non-public
treatment of certain materials. It also
filed supporting financial workpapers.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–74524; File No. SR–
NASDAQ–2015–021]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of
Proposed Rule Change To Amend
Fees Assessed Under NASDAQ Rule
7016(a)
March 18, 2015.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on March 6,
2015, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
(‘‘NASDAQ’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) a
proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II and III below, which Items
have been prepared by the Exchange.
The Commission is publishing this
notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested
persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
NASDAQ is proposing to amend fees
assessed under NASDAQ Rule 7016(a)
for NASDAQ’s Risk Management
Service. The Exchange will implement
the proposed changes on March 6, 2015.
The text of the proposed rule change
is available at https://
nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com, at
1 15
2 17
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 56 / Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / Notices
NASDAQ’s principal office, and at the
Commission’s Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item IV below. The
Exchange has prepared summaries, set
forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of
the most significant aspects of such
statements.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
NASDAQ’s Risk Management Service
provides clearing brokers with a view of
their correspondents’ trading activity,
notification when pre-set trading limits
have been exceeded and the ability to
prevent certain trades from locking in
and clearing when the pre-set limits
have been exceeded. When NASDAQ
separated from NASD (now FINRA) in
2006, the Exchange reduced the per side
per trade monitored fee assessed for the
Risk Management Service from $0.035
to $0.025 and also reduced the total
monthly fee cap from $10,000 to $7,500
per month.3 The Exchange noted that it
was reducing the charges for risk
management services to remain
competitive with charges of other
providers of similar services. NASDAQ
has not increased the fees for the service
since reducing the fees in 2006.
Effective November 17, 2014, FINRA
migrated the OTC Reporting Facility
(‘‘ORF’’) from the NASDAQ OMX ACT
technology platform to its own newlydeveloped platform, and required
members with trade reporting
obligations under its rules in OTC
equity securities and reportable
restricted equity securities to migrate to
the new platform by that date.4 As a
consequence of the migration,
NASDAQ’s Risk Management Service
no longer receives information and
alerts concerning ORF reported
transactions by clearing brokers’
correspondents, thereby resulting in a
significant decrease in the number of
3 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55131
(January 19, 2007), 72 FR 3891 (January 26, 2007)
(SR–NASDAQ–2006–066).
4 See https://www.finra.org/Industry/Compliance/
MarketTransparency/ORF/Notices/P580334.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
01:09 Mar 24, 2015
Jkt 235001
trades covered by the service and a
number of subscription cancellations.
Currently, NASDAQ assesses a fee on
clearing firms that use the Risk
Management Service of $17.25 per
month for each correspondent executing
broker monitored by NASDAQ, and a
per side per trade monitored fee of
$0.025. The total amount of Risk
Management Service fees per-month for
an individual clearing firm is currently
capped at $7,500 per correspondent
executing broker. NASDAQ is proposing
to increase the per side per trade
monitored fee to $0.030 and add a
minimum ‘‘floor’’ fee of $500 per
month, per correspondent executing
broker applied to clearing brokers with
less than 17,000 total monthly trades
and that fall below 50 correspondents
monitored by NASDAQ during the
month, which would be assessed in lieu
of the per side per trade monitored fee.
NASDAQ is also removing language
from the rule text that relates to the
effective date of the fee, which has since
passed.
2. Statutory Basis
NASDAQ believes that the proposed
rule change is consistent with the
provisions of Section 6 of the Act,5 in
general, and with Sections 6(b)(4) and
6(b)(5) of the Act,6 in particular, in that
it provides for the equitable allocation
of reasonable dues, fees and other
charges among members and issuers and
other persons using any facility or
system which the Exchange operates or
controls, and is designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and
practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, to foster cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged
in regulating, clearing, settling,
processing information with respect to,
and facilitating transactions in
securities, to remove impediments to
and perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market
system, and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest; and
are not designed to permit unfair
discrimination between customers,
issuers, brokers, or dealers.
NASDAQ believes that the proposed
increase to the per-transaction fee is
reasonable because it has experienced a
significant decrease in the number of
trades covered by the service and
cancellations of subscriptions to the
service coincident with the migration of
the ORF, as discussed above. The costs
NASDAQ incurs in supporting the
service have increased since 2006, and
have not changed since the significant
5 15
6 15
PO 00000
U.S.C. 78f.
U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
Frm 00098
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
15645
decreases in trades covered by the
service and the loss of subscribers to the
service. Consequently, the costs
incurred by NASDAQ, and any profit
received from subscribers to the service,
must be supported by the remaining
subscribers in the form of a fee increase.
Similarly, the Exchange believes that
applying a minimum monthly fee of
$500 in lieu of the per side per trade
monitored fee is reasonable because
NASDAQ incurs certain fixed costs in
offering the service to clearing brokers,
regardless of the number of transactions
monitored. Although subscribers that
use the service minimally will
experience a fee increase under the
proposed alternative $500 per month fee
floor, NASDAQ has determined that
providing the service to clearing brokers
that have less than 17,000 trades and 50
total correspondents is the point at
which the costs of providing the service
are not sufficiently covered by the per
side per trade monitored fee.
NASDAQ believes that the proposed
increase to the per-transaction fee is
equitably allocated because all clearing
brokers that exceed the alternative floor
fee thresholds will be assessed the same
fee rate. Likewise, the Exchange believes
that the alternative floor fee is equitably
allocated because it applies equally to
all clearing brokers that do not utilize
the service sufficiently to cover the costs
incurred by NASDAQ in offering the
service under the per-transaction fee. As
noted above, NASDAQ has determined
that the alternative floor fee is the
minimum fee NASDAQ can charge to
cover the costs of offering the service to
a subscriber. Consequently, such
clearing brokers would otherwise
receive a subsidy for using the service,
whereas other subscribers to the service
would not. Accordingly, the alternative
floor fee is not only allocated equitably
among subscribers that have minimal
usage of the service, but it is also
allocated equitably among all
subscribers to the service.
Lastly, the Exchange believes that the
proposed increase to the per side per
trade monitored fee does not
discriminate unfairly because it is
applied to all subscribers that exceed
the new minimum activity threshold,
which is directly based on their usage
of the service. The Exchange believes
that applying the alternative floor fee to
certain subscribers that do not exceed
the minimum activity threshold does
not discriminate unfairly because the
fees provided by such a subscriber
under the per side per trade monitored
fee do not currently support the costs
incurred by NASDAQ in offering the
service to the subscribers. Consequently,
applying an alternative minimum fee
E:\FR\FM\24MRN1.SGM
24MRN1
15646
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 56 / Tuesday, March 24, 2015 / Notices
will ensure that such costs are covered
by each subscriber, with no subscriber
being assessed less than the cost of
providing the service.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
NASDAQ does not believe that the
proposed rule changes will result in any
burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act, as amended.7
NASDAQ notes that it operates in a
highly competitive market in which
market participants can readily favor
competing venues if they deem fee
levels at a particular venue to be
excessive, or rebate opportunities
available at other venues to be more
favorable. In such an environment,
NASDAQ must continually adjust its
fees to remain competitive with other
exchanges and with alternative trading
systems that have been exempted from
compliance with the statutory standards
applicable to exchanges. Because
competitors are free to modify their own
fees in response, and because market
participants may readily adjust their
order routing practices, NASDAQ
believes that the degree to which fee
changes in general, and changes to fees
for non-mandatory services particularly,
in this market may impose any burden
on competition is extremely limited. In
this instance, the increases to the fees
assessed for subscription to NASDAQ’s
Risk Management Service arise from a
need to cover the increase of costs in
offering the service since 2006, and the
loss of a significant number trades
covered by the service and a reduction
in subscribers due to recent changes to
the ORF. Because of the reduced
number of trades and subscribers, the
costs of the service must be supported
by those subscribers that remain. To the
extent that the fee increases are too
high, subscribers may cancel their
subscriptions and develop their own
risk management tools that replicate the
Risk Management Service or use third
party risk management tools. As such,
NASDAQ does not believe that any of
the proposed changes will impair the
ability of members or competing order
execution venues to maintain their
competitive standing in the financial
markets, and to the extent the fees are
deemed too high, the changes may
represent an opportunity for other
market venues or third parties to
provide competitive services.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
Written comments were neither
solicited nor received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing change has become
effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.8 At any time
within 60 days of the filing of the
proposed rule change, the Commission
summarily may 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.
available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room on official business
days between the hours of 10 a.m. and
3 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 identifying
information from submissions. You
should submit only information that
you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2015–021, and
should be submitted on or before April
14, 2015.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.9
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
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:
[FR Doc. 2015–06620 Filed 3–23–15; 8:45 am]
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2015–021 on the
subject line.
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Change To Amend the Schedule of
Fees
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street
NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2015–021. 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
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–74525; File No. SR–ISE–
2015–09]
March 18, 2015.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on March 12,
2015, the International Securities
Exchange, LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or the
‘‘ISE’’) filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the
‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change, as described in Items I, II, and
III below, which items have been
prepared by the self-regulatory
organization. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change
from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The ISE proposes to amend the
Schedule of Fees as described in more
detail below. The text of the proposed
rule change is available on the
Exchange’s Web site (https://
www.ise.com), at the principal office of
9 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
7 15
U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
01:09 Mar 24, 2015
8 15
Jkt 235001
PO 00000
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
Frm 00099
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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24MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 56 (Tuesday, March 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15644-15646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06620]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-74524; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2015-021]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC;
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To
Amend Fees Assessed Under NASDAQ Rule 7016(a)
March 18, 2015.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on March 6, 2015, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``NASDAQ'' or the
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') a proposed rule change as described in Items I, II and
III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
NASDAQ is proposing to amend fees assessed under NASDAQ Rule
7016(a) for NASDAQ's Risk Management Service. The Exchange will
implement the proposed changes on March 6, 2015.
The text of the proposed rule change is available at https://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com, at
[[Page 15645]]
NASDAQ's principal office, and at the Commission's Public Reference
Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in
Sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
NASDAQ's Risk Management Service provides clearing brokers with a
view of their correspondents' trading activity, notification when pre-
set trading limits have been exceeded and the ability to prevent
certain trades from locking in and clearing when the pre-set limits
have been exceeded. When NASDAQ separated from NASD (now FINRA) in
2006, the Exchange reduced the per side per trade monitored fee
assessed for the Risk Management Service from $0.035 to $0.025 and also
reduced the total monthly fee cap from $10,000 to $7,500 per month.\3\
The Exchange noted that it was reducing the charges for risk management
services to remain competitive with charges of other providers of
similar services. NASDAQ has not increased the fees for the service
since reducing the fees in 2006.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55131 (January 19,
2007), 72 FR 3891 (January 26, 2007) (SR-NASDAQ-2006-066).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effective November 17, 2014, FINRA migrated the OTC Reporting
Facility (``ORF'') from the NASDAQ OMX ACT technology platform to its
own newly-developed platform, and required members with trade reporting
obligations under its rules in OTC equity securities and reportable
restricted equity securities to migrate to the new platform by that
date.\4\ As a consequence of the migration, NASDAQ's Risk Management
Service no longer receives information and alerts concerning ORF
reported transactions by clearing brokers' correspondents, thereby
resulting in a significant decrease in the number of trades covered by
the service and a number of subscription cancellations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See https://www.finra.org/Industry/Compliance/MarketTransparency/ORF/Notices/P580334.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently, NASDAQ assesses a fee on clearing firms that use the
Risk Management Service of $17.25 per month for each correspondent
executing broker monitored by NASDAQ, and a per side per trade
monitored fee of $0.025. The total amount of Risk Management Service
fees per-month for an individual clearing firm is currently capped at
$7,500 per correspondent executing broker. NASDAQ is proposing to
increase the per side per trade monitored fee to $0.030 and add a
minimum ``floor'' fee of $500 per month, per correspondent executing
broker applied to clearing brokers with less than 17,000 total monthly
trades and that fall below 50 correspondents monitored by NASDAQ during
the month, which would be assessed in lieu of the per side per trade
monitored fee.
NASDAQ is also removing language from the rule text that relates to
the effective date of the fee, which has since passed.
2. Statutory Basis
NASDAQ believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with
the provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\5\ in general, and with
Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\6\ in particular, in that it
provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and
other charges among members and issuers and other persons using any
facility or system which the Exchange operates or controls, and is
designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged in regulating, clearing,
settling, processing information with respect to, and facilitating
transactions in securities, to remove impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and,
in general, to protect investors and the public interest; and are not
designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers,
brokers, or dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NASDAQ believes that the proposed increase to the per-transaction
fee is reasonable because it has experienced a significant decrease in
the number of trades covered by the service and cancellations of
subscriptions to the service coincident with the migration of the ORF,
as discussed above. The costs NASDAQ incurs in supporting the service
have increased since 2006, and have not changed since the significant
decreases in trades covered by the service and the loss of subscribers
to the service. Consequently, the costs incurred by NASDAQ, and any
profit received from subscribers to the service, must be supported by
the remaining subscribers in the form of a fee increase. Similarly, the
Exchange believes that applying a minimum monthly fee of $500 in lieu
of the per side per trade monitored fee is reasonable because NASDAQ
incurs certain fixed costs in offering the service to clearing brokers,
regardless of the number of transactions monitored. Although
subscribers that use the service minimally will experience a fee
increase under the proposed alternative $500 per month fee floor,
NASDAQ has determined that providing the service to clearing brokers
that have less than 17,000 trades and 50 total correspondents is the
point at which the costs of providing the service are not sufficiently
covered by the per side per trade monitored fee.
NASDAQ believes that the proposed increase to the per-transaction
fee is equitably allocated because all clearing brokers that exceed the
alternative floor fee thresholds will be assessed the same fee rate.
Likewise, the Exchange believes that the alternative floor fee is
equitably allocated because it applies equally to all clearing brokers
that do not utilize the service sufficiently to cover the costs
incurred by NASDAQ in offering the service under the per-transaction
fee. As noted above, NASDAQ has determined that the alternative floor
fee is the minimum fee NASDAQ can charge to cover the costs of offering
the service to a subscriber. Consequently, such clearing brokers would
otherwise receive a subsidy for using the service, whereas other
subscribers to the service would not. Accordingly, the alternative
floor fee is not only allocated equitably among subscribers that have
minimal usage of the service, but it is also allocated equitably among
all subscribers to the service.
Lastly, the Exchange believes that the proposed increase to the per
side per trade monitored fee does not discriminate unfairly because it
is applied to all subscribers that exceed the new minimum activity
threshold, which is directly based on their usage of the service. The
Exchange believes that applying the alternative floor fee to certain
subscribers that do not exceed the minimum activity threshold does not
discriminate unfairly because the fees provided by such a subscriber
under the per side per trade monitored fee do not currently support the
costs incurred by NASDAQ in offering the service to the subscribers.
Consequently, applying an alternative minimum fee
[[Page 15646]]
will ensure that such costs are covered by each subscriber, with no
subscriber being assessed less than the cost of providing the service.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
NASDAQ does not believe that the proposed rule changes will result
in any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act, as amended.\7\ NASDAQ notes
that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market
participants can readily favor competing venues if they deem fee levels
at a particular venue to be excessive, or rebate opportunities
available at other venues to be more favorable. In such an environment,
NASDAQ must continually adjust its fees to remain competitive with
other exchanges and with alternative trading systems that have been
exempted from compliance with the statutory standards applicable to
exchanges. Because competitors are free to modify their own fees in
response, and because market participants may readily adjust their
order routing practices, NASDAQ believes that the degree to which fee
changes in general, and changes to fees for non-mandatory services
particularly, in this market may impose any burden on competition is
extremely limited. In this instance, the increases to the fees assessed
for subscription to NASDAQ's Risk Management Service arise from a need
to cover the increase of costs in offering the service since 2006, and
the loss of a significant number trades covered by the service and a
reduction in subscribers due to recent changes to the ORF. Because of
the reduced number of trades and subscribers, the costs of the service
must be supported by those subscribers that remain. To the extent that
the fee increases are too high, subscribers may cancel their
subscriptions and develop their own risk management tools that
replicate the Risk Management Service or use third party risk
management tools. As such, NASDAQ does not believe that any of the
proposed changes will impair the ability of members or competing order
execution venues to maintain their competitive standing in the
financial markets, and to the extent the fees are deemed too high, the
changes may represent an opportunity for other market venues or third
parties to provide competitive services.
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\7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
Written comments were neither solicited nor received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing change has become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.\8\ At any time within 60 days of the filing
of the proposed rule change, the Commission summarily may 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.
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\8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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:
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-NASDAQ-2015-021 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Brent J. Fields,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NASDAQ-2015-021. 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 on
official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 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 identifying
information from submissions. You should submit only information that
you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to
File Number SR-NASDAQ-2015-021, and should be submitted on or before
April 14, 2015.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
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\9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-06620 Filed 3-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
