Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Schedule of Fees, 8244-8248 [2017-01466]
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8244
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 24, 2017 / Notices
modified by Amendment No. 1, on an
accelerated basis.
VI. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,44 that the
proposed rule change (SR–Phlx–2016–
82), as modified by Amendment No. 1,
be, and hereby is, approved on an
accelerated basis.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.45
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–01460 Filed 1–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–79810; File No. SR–
NASDAQ–2016–161]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of
Designation of Longer Period for
Commission Action on Proposed Rule
Change To Adopt a New Extended Life
Priority Order Attribute Under Rule
4703, and To Make Related Changes to
Rules 4702, 4752, 4753, 4754, and 4757
January 17, 2017.
On November 17, 2016, The Nasdaq
Stock Market LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’ or
‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section
19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4
thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to
adopt a new Extended Life Priority
Order Attribute. The proposed rule
change was published for comment in
the Federal Register on December 5,
2016.3 The Commission has received six
comment letters on the proposal.4
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 5 provides
that within 45 days of the publication of
44 See
id.
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79428
(November 30, 2016), 81 FR 87628.
4 See Letters to Brent J. Fields, Secretary,
Commission, from Joseph Saluzzi and Sal Arnuk,
Partners, Themis Trading LLC, dated December 19,
2016; Eric Swanson, EVP, General Counsel and
Secretary, Bats Global Markets, Inc., dated
December 22, 2016; Adam Nunes, Head of Business
Development, Hudson River Trading LLC, dated
December 22, 2016; Joanna Mallers, Secretary, FIA
Principal Traders Group, dated December 23, 2016;
Adam C. Cooper, Senior Managing Director and
Chief Legal Officer, Citadel Securities, dated
December 27, 2016; and Andrew Stevens, General
Counsel, IMC Financial Markets, dated December
28, 2016.
5 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
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45 17
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notice of the filing of a proposed rule
change, or within such longer period up
to 90 days as the Commission may
designate if it finds such longer period
to be appropriate and publishes its
reasons for so finding or as to which the
self-regulatory organization consents,
the Commission shall either approve the
proposed rule change, disapprove the
proposed rule change, or institute
proceedings to determine whether the
proposed rule change should be
disapproved. The 45th day for this filing
is January 19, 2017.
The Commission is extending the 45day time period for Commission action
on the proposed rule change. The
Commission finds that it is appropriate
to designate a longer period within
which to take action on the proposed
rule change so that it has sufficient time
to consider the Exchange’s proposal, the
comments received, and any response to
the comments by the Exchange.
Accordingly, pursuant to Section
19(b)(2) of the Act 6 and for the reasons
stated above, the Commission
designates March 5, 2017, as the date by
which the Commission shall either
approve or disapprove, or institute
proceedings to determine whether to
disapprove, the proposed rule change
(File No. SR–NASDAQ–2016–161).
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.7
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–01465 Filed 1–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
[Release No. 34–79811; File No. SR–ISE–
2017–01]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Change To Amend the Schedule of
Fees
January 17, 2017.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on January 3,
2017, the International Securities
Exchange, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’)
filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
proposed rule change as described in
6 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
CFR 200.30–3(a)(31).
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
7 17
Frm 00071
Fmt 4703
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange 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
at https://www.ise.com, at the principal
office of the Exchange, 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
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
PO 00000
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.
Sfmt 4703
The purpose of the proposed rule
change is to amend the Exchange’s
Schedule of Fees to eliminate, for all
symbols other than FX symbols, the
$0.20 per contract fee applicable to
Professional Customers 3 for the
initiating or contra side of Qualified
Contingent Cross (‘‘QCC’’) orders or
orders executed in the Solicitation
Mechanism (‘‘Solicitation’’ orders). The
proposed rule change will lower the
rebates that the Exchange provides to
members acting as agent when
Professional Customers trade with other
Professional Customers and when they
trade with Priority Customers for QCC
and other solicited crossing orders 4 to
the same per contract rates and volume
tiers that the Exchange presently
provides to members acting as agent
3 A ‘‘Professional Customer’’ is a person or entity
that is not a broker/dealer and is not a Priority
Customer. See ISE Rule 100(37C).
4 As used herein, the phrase ‘‘other solicited
crossing orders’’ refers to solicited crossing orders
executed in the Solicitation, Facilitation, and Price
Improvement Mechanisms.
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when Priority Customers 5 trade with
other Priority Customers for such
orders.
As set forth in ISE Rule 715(j), a QCC
is an option order type that allows
members to cross at least 1,000 contracts
without exposure, as long as: (i) the
agency/originating side of the trade
consists of an order of at least 1,000
contracts and (ii) the order is part of a
Qualified Contingent Trade (‘‘QCT’’). As
is further set forth in the Supplementary
Material to ISE Rule 715, a QCT is a
transaction consisting of two or more
component orders, executed as agent or
principal, where: (a) At least one
component is an NMS Stock, as defined
in Rule 600 of Regulation NMS under
the Exchange Act of 1934; (b) all the
components are effected with a product
or price contingency that either has
been agreed to by all respective
counterparties or arranged for by a
broker-dealer as principal or agent; (c)
the execution of one component is
contingent upon the execution of all
other components at or near the same
time; (d) the specific relationship
between the component orders (e.g., the
spread between the prices of the
component orders) is determined by the
time the contingent order is placed; (e)
the component orders bear a derivative
relationship to one another, represent
different classes of shares of the same
issuer, or involve the securities of
participants in mergers or with
intentions to merge that have been
announced or cancelled; and (f) the
transaction is fully hedged (without
regard to any prior existing position) as
a result of other components of the
contingent trade. The Commission first
approved the QCC order type for ISE on
February 24, 2011.6
Today, the Exchange assesses a fee of
$0.20 per contract to Professional
Customers for QCC and other solicited
crossing orders.7 It does not assess a fee
for such orders to Priority Customers.8
The Exchange proposes to eliminate the
fee it charges to Professional Customers
for QCC and Solicitation orders.
The Exchange also pays rebates on
QCC and other solicited crossing orders
once specified volume thresholds are
met during each month.9 The existing
rebate schedule and corresponding
explanatory notes are as follows:
A. QCC and Solicitation Rebate
➢Members using the Qualified
Contingent Cross (QCC) and/or other
solicited crossing orders, including
solicited orders executed in the
Solicitation, Facilitation or Price
Improvement Mechanisms, will receive
rebates according to the table below for
each originating contract side in all
symbols traded on the Exchange. Once
a Member reaches a certain volume
threshold in QCC orders and/or
solicited crossing orders during a
month, the Exchange will provide
rebates to that Member for all of its QCC
and solicited crossing order traded
contracts for that month. The applicable
rebates will be applied on QCC and
solicited crossing order traded contracts
once the volume threshold is met.
Members will receive the Non‘‘Customer to Customer’’ rebate for all
QCC and/or other solicited crossing
orders except for QCC and solicited
orders between two Priority Customers.
QCC and solicited orders between two
Priority Customers will receive the
‘‘Customer to Customer’’ rebate or
‘‘Customer to Customer’’ Rebate PLUS,
respectively. The volume threshold and
corresponding rebates are as follows:
➢Non-‘‘Customer to Customer’’ and
‘‘Customer to Customer’’ volume will be
aggregated in determining the
applicable volume tier.
Non-‘‘Customer
to Customer’’
rebate
Originating contract sides
0 to 99,999 ...................................................................................................................................
100,000 to 199,999 ......................................................................................................................
200,000 to 499,999 ......................................................................................................................
500,000 to 699,999 ......................................................................................................................
700,000 to 999,999 ......................................................................................................................
1,000,000+ ...................................................................................................................................
0.00
(0.05)
(0.07)
(0.08)
(0.09)
(0.11)
‘‘Customer to
Customer’’
rebate
0.00
(0.01)
(0.01)
(0.03)
(0.03)
(0.03)
‘‘Customer to
Customer’’
rebate PLUS*
0.00
(0.05)
(0.05)
(0.05)
(0.05)
(0.05)
* PLUS rebate is for Members with total monthly unsolicited originating Facilitation contract side volume of 175,000 or more.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
As set forth in this schedule, the
Exchange presently provides rebates to
members acting as agents for QCC trades
involving Professional Customers (both
Professional-to-Professional and
Professional-to-Priority trades) in
accordance with the ‘‘Non-‘Customer to
Customer’ ’’ schedule for all qualifying
executed QCC and solicited crossing
orders, while it provides rebates to
members acting as agents for such trades
involving all Priority Customers
(Priority-to-Priority trades) in
accordance with the ‘‘Customer to
Customer’’ or ‘‘Customer to Customer
Rebate Plus’’ schedules.10 The Exchange
proposes to modify its rebate schedule
to state that QCC and other solicited
crossing orders between Professional
Customers or between Professional
Customers and Priority Customers will
qualify for rebates in accordance with
the ‘‘Customer to Customer’’ or
‘‘Customer to Customer Rebate Plus’’
schedules.
The proposed changes would treat
Professional Customers and Priority
Customers the same with respect to fees
5 Under ISE Rule 100(37A), a ‘‘Priority Customer’’
is a person or entity that: (i) is not a broker or dealer
in securities; and (ii) does not place more than 390
orders in listed options per day on average during
a calendar month for its own beneficial account(s).
Pursuant to ISE Rule 713, Priority Customer orders
are executed before other trading interest at the
same price.
6 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 63955
(Feb. 24, 2011), 76 FR 11533 (Mar. 2, 2011) (SR–
ISE–2010–73).
7 See ISE Schedule of Fees, updated Nov. 1, 2016,
at 6, available at https://www.ise.com/assets/
documents/OptionsExchange/legal/fee/ISE_fee_
schedule.pdf (‘‘ISE Fee Schedule’’).
8 See id.
9 See id. at 12.
for QCC and Solicitation orders. It
would also treat QCC and other solicited
crossing orders involving all
Professional Customers, all Priority
Customers, and a mix of Priority and
Professional Customers the same with
respect to rebates. The Exchange
believes that it is not necessary to
differentiate Professional Customers and
Priority Customers for these purposes
because QCC and Solicitation orders are
not executed pursuant to a priority
scheme.11 Moreover, because of the size
10 See
id.
Rules provide that if, at the time a QCC or
Solicitation order is entered, a Priority Customer
order exists on the Exchange’s order book, then in
certain instances, the QCC or Solicitation order will
be cancelled or the order will be executed against
the Priority Customer order. See Rules 716(e) & 721.
These Rules do not suggest that in this instance, the
Priority Customer would receive execution priority
11 ISE
Continued
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of these orders, the sophistication of the
investors involved, and the complexity
of the transactions, there is little
practical difference between Priority
Customers and Professional Customers
with respect to QCC and Solicitation
orders.
The Exchange also proposes to
eliminate transaction fees for
Professional Customers engaged in QCC
and Solicitation orders as a means of
attracting more such orders to the
Exchange and to retain the business of
`
Professional Customers vis-a-vis
competing exchanges that do not
presently charge Professional Customers
such fees.12 The Exchange notes that a
recent modification to the ISE Rules
caused many of its Priority Customers to
be re-classified as Professional
Customers.13 Whereas these Customers,
as Priority Customers, previously
incurred no fees for executing QCC and
Solicitation orders, they will incur such
fees going forward as Professional
Customers absent the proposed rule
change.
To the extent that the Exchange
proposes to eliminate fees for its
Professional Customers that execute
QCC and Solicitation orders, the
rationale for providing rebates is
diminished for QCC and other solicited
crossing orders involving Professional
Customers trading with other
Professional Customers and with
Priority Customers. Accordingly, the
Exchange proposes to reduce the levels
of rebates it provides for QCC and other
solicited crossing orders involving
Professional Customers trading with
other Professional Customers and with
Priority Customers to the same levels as
it provides to such trades involving two
Priority Customers.
2. Statutory Basis
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The Exchange believes that its
proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)
of the Act,14 in general, and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5)
because such a trade would be executed outside of
the QCC or Solicitation Mechanism. We also note
that the transaction fee schedule applicable to QCC
and Solicitation orders would not apply to this
trade.
12 See NYSE AMEX Options Fee Schedule,
effective Dec. 15, 2016, at https://www.nyse.com/
publicdocs/nyse/markets/amex-options/NYSE_
Amex_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf; NYSE Arca
Options Fees and Charges, effective Nov. 3, 2016,
at https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/
arca-options/NYSE_Arca_Options_Fee_
Schedule.pdf; NASDAQ PHLX LLC Pricing
Schedule, at https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/
Micro.aspx?id=phlxpricing.
13 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
78788 (Sept. 8, 2016), 81 FR 63252 (Sept. 14, 2016)
(SR–ISE–2016–19).
14 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
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of the Act,15 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, and is not
designed to permit unfair
discrimination between customers,
issuers, brokers, or dealers.
The Commission and the courts have
repeatedly expressed their preference
for competition over regulatory
intervention in determining prices,
products, and services in the securities
markets. In Regulation NMS, while
adopting a series of steps to improve the
current market model, the Commission
highlighted the importance of market
forces in determining prices and SRO
revenues and, also, recognized that
current regulation of the market system
‘‘has been remarkably successful in
promoting market competition in its
broader forms that are most important to
investors and listed companies.’’ 16
Likewise, in NetCoalition v. Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘NetCoalition’’),17 the D.C. Circuit
upheld the Commission’s use of a
market-based approach in evaluating the
fairness of market data fees against a
challenge claiming that Congress
mandated a cost-based approach.18 As
the court emphasized, the Commission
‘‘intended in Regulation NMS that
‘market forces, rather than regulatory
requirements’ play a role in determining
the market data . . . to be made
available to investors and at what
cost.’’ 19
Further, ‘‘[n]o one disputes that
competition for order flow is ‘fierce.’
. . . As the SEC explained, ‘[i]n the U.S.
national market system, buyers and
sellers of securities, and the brokerdealers that act as their order-routing
agents, have a wide range of choices of
where to route orders for execution’;
[and] ‘no exchange can afford to take its
market share percentages for granted’
because ‘no exchange possesses a
monopoly, regulatory or otherwise, in
the execution of order flow from broker
dealers’. . . .’’ 20 Although the court
and the SEC were discussing the cash
equities markets, the Exchange believes
that these views apply with equal force
to the options markets.
It is reasonable to no longer assess a
transaction fee for Professional
15 15
U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808
(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37497, 37499 (June 29, 2005).
17 See id. at 534–535.
18 See id. at 534.
19 See id. at 537.
20 See id. at 539 (quoting Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 59039 (December 2, 2008), 73 FR
74770, 74782–83 (December 9, 2008) (SR–
NYSEArca-2006–21).
16 See
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Customer QCC and Solicitation orders
and to pay a reduced rebate on
Professional Customer orders because
the distinction that necessitated the
differentiation as between Priority
Customer and Professional Customer
orders is not meaningful with respect to
QCC and Solicitation orders.
QCC orders are orders to buy or sell
at least 1,000 contracts.21 These largesized contingent orders are complex in
nature and have a stock-tied component,
which requires the option leg to be
executed at the NBBO or better. The
parties to a contingent trade are focused
on the spread or ratio between the
transaction prices for each of the
component instruments (i.e., the net
price of the entire contingent trade),
rather than on the absolute price of any
single component. Also, no Priority
Customer priority exists with respect to
QCC Orders as with orders transacted
within the order book. Permitting
Professional Customer orders to be
treated similar to Priority Customer
orders with respect to this order type
may attract more QCC and Solicitation
orders to the Exchange because the
Exchange would no longer assess a QCC
or Solicitation order transaction fee for
Professional Customer orders.
Further, the Exchange recently
amended its definition of a Professional
Customer to add specificity with respect
to the manner in which the volume
threshold will be calculated to
determine if orders should be treated as
Professional Customer.22 Currently,
members are required to review their
Customers’ activity on at least a
quarterly basis to determine whether
orders that are not for the account of a
broker-dealer should be represented as
Priority Customer orders or Professional
Customer orders.23 The Exchange
anticipates that the specificity added to
the Professional Customer definition
may cause current market participants
that mark orders as ‘‘Priority Customer’’
to be required to mark those orders as
21 See
ISE Rule 715(j).
supra note 13.
23 Orders for any customer that had an average of
more than 390 orders per day during any month of
a calendar quarter must be represented as
Professional Orders for the next calendar quarter.
Members will be required to conduct a quarterly
review and make any appropriate changes to the
way in which they are representing orders within
five days after the end of each calendar quarter.
While Members only will be required to review
their accounts on a quarterly basis, if during a
quarter the Exchange identifies a customer for
which orders are being represented as Priority
Customer Orders but that has averaged more than
390 orders per day during a month, the Exchange
will notify the Member and the Member will be
required to change the manner in which it is
representing the customer’s orders within five days.
See 81 FR at 63253, n.4.
22 See
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‘‘Professional Customer’’ instead as the
calendar quarter comes to a close. Thus,
orders that these market participants
would have marked as ‘‘Priority
Customer,’’ and that would not have
been subject to a QCC transaction fee,
would, in absence of this proposal, be
marked ‘‘Professional Customer’’ and
incur a QCC transaction fee. With this
proposal, such Professional Customer
orders would not be assessed a QCC
transaction fee.
The Exchange believes that no longer
assessing a QCC transaction fee for
Professional Customer orders and
paying a reduced QCC rebate on
Professional Customer-to-Professional
Customer and Professional Customer-toPriority Customer orders is equitable
and not unfairly discriminatory because
QCC and Solicitation orders are
distinctive from transactions executed
within the order book. Whereas orders
executed within the order book grant
Priority Customers execution priority
over other market participants, QCC and
Solicitation orders do not grant
execution priority.24 Insofar as the
rationale for distinguishing between
Priority Customers and Professional
Customers was to prevent market
professionals, which have access to
sophisticated trading systems with
functionality unavailable to retail
Customers, from taking advantage of
retail Customers’ execution priority over
non-retail Customer orders,25 this
rationale does not apply to QCC or
Solicitation orders. As the Commission
noted when it approved the QCC order
type on the Exchange:
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The Commission believes that those
customers participating in QCC Orders will
likely be sophisticated investors who should
understand that, without a requirement of
exposure for QCC Orders, their order would
not be given an opportunity for price
improvement on the Exchange. These
customers should be able to assess whether
the net prices they are receiving for their
QCC Order are competitive, and who will
have the ability to choose among brokerdealers if they believe the net price one
broker-dealer provides is not competitive.
Further, broker-dealers are subject to a duty
of best execution for their customers’ orders,
and that duty does not change for QCC
Orders.26
Thus, because of the size of the
orders, the sophistication of the
investors involved, and the complexity
of the transactions, pricing
differentiation between Priority
24 See
supra note 11.
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57254
(Feb. 1, 2008), 73 FR 7345, 7346 n.7 (Feb. 7, 2008).
25 See
26 See
Securities and Exchange Act Release No.
63955 (February 24, 2011), 76 FR 11533 (March 2,
2011) (SR–ISE–2010–73).
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Customer and Professional Customer
orders is unnecessary with respect to
QCC and Solicitation orders.
With respect to distinguishing
Professional Customer orders from other
Non-Customer participant orders, the
Exchange notes that these other market
participants are distinct from
Professional Customers for purposes of
assessing QCC transaction fees. With
respect to Firm Proprietary and Non-ISE
Market Makers, for example, these
market participants are eligible for a
Crossing Fee Cap of $75,000 per
month.27 These participants are not
subject to QCC transaction fees once the
Crossing Fee Cap is met in a given
month.28 Market Makers are eligible for
fee discounts, on a tiered basis, for
regular orders in non-select symbols.29
Insofar as the Exchange proposes to
eliminate the fees it charges to
Professional Customers for QCC and
Solicitation orders, the Exchange
believes that it would no longer be
equitable to pay rebates at existing
levels to members acting as agent when
Professional Customers trade with
Priority Customers and other
Professional Customers for QCC and
other solicited crossing orders. Thus,
the Exchange proposes to reduce these
rebates to the same levels as those it
pays for QCC orders involving Priority
Customers trading with other Priority
Customers.
Finally, the Exchange notes that the
Commission recently approved a similar
proposal by Phlx to eliminate its QCC
transactions fees and rebates for its
professional customers.30
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 not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. In terms of
inter-market competition, the Exchange
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, the Exchange 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
27 See
ISE Fee Schedule, supra note 7, at 17.
id.
29 See id. at 6–7, 12–13.
30 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
77673 (Apr. 14, 2016), 81 FR 249009 (Apr. 21, 2016)
(SR–Phlx–2016–51).
28 See
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8247
to exchanges. Because competitors are
free to modify their own fees in
response, and because market
participants may readily adjust their
order routing practices, that the degree
to which fee changes in this market may
impose any burden on competition is
extremely limited.
The initial purpose of the distinction
between a Priority Customer order and
a Professional Customer order was to
prevent market professionals, which
have access to sophisticated trading
systems that contain functionality not
available to retail Customers, from
taking advantage of Priority Customer
priority, where retail Customer orders
are given execution priority over NonCustomer orders. Professional Customer
orders are identified based upon the
average number of orders entered for a
beneficial account.31
QCC orders are by definition largesized contingent orders that have a
stock-tied component. The parties to a
contingent trade are focused on the
spread or ratio between the transaction
prices for each of the component
instruments (i.e., the net price of the
entire contingent trade), rather than on
the absolute price of any single
component. Treating Priority Customer
orders and Professional Customer orders
in the same manner in terms of pricing
with respect to QCC and Solicitation
orders does not provide any advantage
to a Professional Customer. The
distinction does not create an
opportunity to burden competition, for
the reasons stated herein with respect to
execution priority as well as the reasons
below.
With respect to distinguishing
Professional Customer orders from other
Non-Customer participant orders, the
Exchange notes that these other market
participants are distinct from
Professional Customers for purposes of
assessing QCC transaction fees. With
respect to Firm Proprietary and Non-ISE
Market Makers, for example, these
market participants are eligible for a
Crossing Fee Cap of $75,000 per
month.32 These participants are not
subject to QCC transaction fees once the
Crossing Fee Cap is met in a given
month.33 Market Makers are eligible for
fee discounts, on a tiered basis, for
regular orders in non-select symbols.34
Also, Priority Customer-to-Professional
Customer orders do not impose an
undue burden on intra-market
31 See
supra note 25.
ISE Fee Schedule, supra note 7, at 17.
33 See id.
34 See id. at 6–7, 12–13.
32 See
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 24, 2017 / Notices
competition for the reasons explained
herein.
The Exchange’s proposal does not
place on undue burden on inter-market
competition because the QCC order type
is similar on other options exchanges
and these exchanges may also file to
eliminate the distinction between
Priority Customers and Professionals for
the QCC order type.35 The Exchange
notes that the Commission recently
approved a similar proposal by Phlx to
eliminate both its QCC transactions fees
and its rebates for its professional
customers.36
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either
solicited or received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing rule change has become
effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act, 20 and
subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b–4
thereunder,21 [sic] because it
establishes a due, fee, or other charge
imposed by ISE. At any time within 60
days of the filing of such 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. If the
Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
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:
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
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–
ISE–2017–01 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
supra note 12.
36 See supra note 30.
Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–ISE–2017–01. 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 the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office 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–ISE–
2017–01 and should be submitted by
February 14, 2017.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.37
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–01466 Filed 1–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[SEC File No. 270–664, OMB Control No.
3235–0740]
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request
Upon Written Request, Copies Available
From: Securities and Exchange
Commission, Office of Investor
Education and Advocacy,
Washington, DC 20549–0213.
Revision:
35 See
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37 17
Jkt 241001
PO 00000
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
Frm 00075
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Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity
Policies and Practices of Entities
Regulated by the Agencies.
ACTION:
Notice.
The SEC, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites the
general public and other Federal
agencies to take this opportunity to
comment on a revised information
collection, as required by the PRA. The
SEC may not conduct or sponsor, and a
respondent is not required to respond
to, an information collection unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number. The SEC previously received
OMB approval for a voluntary
information collection in the Joint
Standards. The SEC now is soliciting
comments on a revised information
collection which adds a Diversity
Assessment Report as an instrument to
facilitate completion of the selfassessment described in the Joint
Standards.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before March 27, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please direct your written
comments to Pamela Dyson, Chief
Information Officer, Securities and
Exchange Commission, c/o Remi PavlikSimon, 100 F Street NE., Washington,
DC 20549, or send an email to PRA_
Mailbox@sec.gov, and include ‘‘SEC File
No. 270–664—OMWI Diversity
Assessment Report’’ in the subject line
of the message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information about the
information collection discussed in this
revised notice, please contact Pamela A.
Gibbs, Director, Office of Minority and
Women Inclusion, (202) 551–6046, or
Audrey B. Little, Senior Counsel, Office
of Minority and Women Inclusion, (202)
551–6086, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), certain
Federal agencies must obtain approval
from OMB for each collection of
information that they conduct or
sponsor. ‘‘Collection of information’’ is
defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) (and 5 CFR
1320.3(c) of the PRA implementing
regulations) to include agency requests
or requirements that members of the
public submit reports, keep records, or
provide information to a third party.
The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A))
directs these Federal agencies to provide
a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of
information before submitting the
collection to OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, the SEC
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\24JAN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8244-8248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01466]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-79811; File No. SR-ISE-2017-01]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Change To Amend the Schedule of Fees
January 17, 2017.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on January 3, 2017, the International Securities Exchange, LLC (``ISE''
or ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the 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
The Exchange 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 at https://www.ise.com, at the principal office of the
Exchange, 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
The purpose of the proposed rule change is to amend the Exchange's
Schedule of Fees to eliminate, for all symbols other than FX symbols,
the $0.20 per contract fee applicable to Professional Customers \3\ for
the initiating or contra side of Qualified Contingent Cross (``QCC'')
orders or orders executed in the Solicitation Mechanism
(``Solicitation'' orders). The proposed rule change will lower the
rebates that the Exchange provides to members acting as agent when
Professional Customers trade with other Professional Customers and when
they trade with Priority Customers for QCC and other solicited crossing
orders \4\ to the same per contract rates and volume tiers that the
Exchange presently provides to members acting as agent
[[Page 8245]]
when Priority Customers \5\ trade with other Priority Customers for
such orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ A ``Professional Customer'' is a person or entity that is
not a broker/dealer and is not a Priority Customer. See ISE Rule
100(37C).
\4\ As used herein, the phrase ``other solicited crossing
orders'' refers to solicited crossing orders executed in the
Solicitation, Facilitation, and Price Improvement Mechanisms.
\5\ Under ISE Rule 100(37A), a ``Priority Customer'' is a person
or entity that: (i) is not a broker or dealer in securities; and
(ii) does not place more than 390 orders in listed options per day
on average during a calendar month for its own beneficial
account(s). Pursuant to ISE Rule 713, Priority Customer orders are
executed before other trading interest at the same price.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As set forth in ISE Rule 715(j), a QCC is an option order type that
allows members to cross at least 1,000 contracts without exposure, as
long as: (i) the agency/originating side of the trade consists of an
order of at least 1,000 contracts and (ii) the order is part of a
Qualified Contingent Trade (``QCT''). As is further set forth in the
Supplementary Material to ISE Rule 715, a QCT is a transaction
consisting of two or more component orders, executed as agent or
principal, where: (a) At least one component is an NMS Stock, as
defined in Rule 600 of Regulation NMS under the Exchange Act of 1934;
(b) all the components are effected with a product or price contingency
that either has been agreed to by all respective counterparties or
arranged for by a broker-dealer as principal or agent; (c) the
execution of one component is contingent upon the execution of all
other components at or near the same time; (d) the specific
relationship between the component orders (e.g., the spread between the
prices of the component orders) is determined by the time the
contingent order is placed; (e) the component orders bear a derivative
relationship to one another, represent different classes of shares of
the same issuer, or involve the securities of participants in mergers
or with intentions to merge that have been announced or cancelled; and
(f) the transaction is fully hedged (without regard to any prior
existing position) as a result of other components of the contingent
trade. The Commission first approved the QCC order type for ISE on
February 24, 2011.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 63955 (Feb. 24,
2011), 76 FR 11533 (Mar. 2, 2011) (SR-ISE-2010-73).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, the Exchange assesses a fee of $0.20 per contract to
Professional Customers for QCC and other solicited crossing orders.\7\
It does not assess a fee for such orders to Priority Customers.\8\ The
Exchange proposes to eliminate the fee it charges to Professional
Customers for QCC and Solicitation orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See ISE Schedule of Fees, updated Nov. 1, 2016, at 6,
available at https://www.ise.com/assets/documents/OptionsExchange/legal/fee/ISE_fee_schedule.pdf (``ISE Fee Schedule'').
\8\ See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange also pays rebates on QCC and other solicited crossing
orders once specified volume thresholds are met during each month.\9\
The existing rebate schedule and corresponding explanatory notes are as
follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See id. at 12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. QCC and Solicitation Rebate
[rtarr8]Members using the Qualified Contingent Cross (QCC) and/or
other solicited crossing orders, including solicited orders executed in
the Solicitation, Facilitation or Price Improvement Mechanisms, will
receive rebates according to the table below for each originating
contract side in all symbols traded on the Exchange. Once a Member
reaches a certain volume threshold in QCC orders and/or solicited
crossing orders during a month, the Exchange will provide rebates to
that Member for all of its QCC and solicited crossing order traded
contracts for that month. The applicable rebates will be applied on QCC
and solicited crossing order traded contracts once the volume threshold
is met. Members will receive the Non-``Customer to Customer'' rebate
for all QCC and/or other solicited crossing orders except for QCC and
solicited orders between two Priority Customers. QCC and solicited
orders between two Priority Customers will receive the ``Customer to
Customer'' rebate or ``Customer to Customer'' Rebate PLUS,
respectively. The volume threshold and corresponding rebates are as
follows:
[rtarr8]Non-``Customer to Customer'' and ``Customer to Customer''
volume will be aggregated in determining the applicable volume tier.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-``Customer ``Customer to ``Customer to
Originating contract sides to Customer'' Customer'' Customer''
rebate rebate rebate PLUS*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 to 99,999..................................................... 0.00 0.00 0.00
100,000 to 199,999.............................................. (0.05) (0.01) (0.05)
200,000 to 499,999.............................................. (0.07) (0.01) (0.05)
500,000 to 699,999.............................................. (0.08) (0.03) (0.05)
700,000 to 999,999.............................................. (0.09) (0.03) (0.05)
1,000,000+...................................................... (0.11) (0.03) (0.05)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* PLUS rebate is for Members with total monthly unsolicited originating Facilitation contract side volume of
175,000 or more.
As set forth in this schedule, the Exchange presently provides
rebates to members acting as agents for QCC trades involving
Professional Customers (both Professional-to-Professional and
Professional-to-Priority trades) in accordance with the ``Non-`Customer
to Customer' '' schedule for all qualifying executed QCC and solicited
crossing orders, while it provides rebates to members acting as agents
for such trades involving all Priority Customers (Priority-to-Priority
trades) in accordance with the ``Customer to Customer'' or ``Customer
to Customer Rebate Plus'' schedules.\10\ The Exchange proposes to
modify its rebate schedule to state that QCC and other solicited
crossing orders between Professional Customers or between Professional
Customers and Priority Customers will qualify for rebates in accordance
with the ``Customer to Customer'' or ``Customer to Customer Rebate
Plus'' schedules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed changes would treat Professional Customers and
Priority Customers the same with respect to fees for QCC and
Solicitation orders. It would also treat QCC and other solicited
crossing orders involving all Professional Customers, all Priority
Customers, and a mix of Priority and Professional Customers the same
with respect to rebates. The Exchange believes that it is not necessary
to differentiate Professional Customers and Priority Customers for
these purposes because QCC and Solicitation orders are not executed
pursuant to a priority scheme.\11\ Moreover, because of the size
[[Page 8246]]
of these orders, the sophistication of the investors involved, and the
complexity of the transactions, there is little practical difference
between Priority Customers and Professional Customers with respect to
QCC and Solicitation orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ ISE Rules provide that if, at the time a QCC or
Solicitation order is entered, a Priority Customer order exists on
the Exchange's order book, then in certain instances, the QCC or
Solicitation order will be cancelled or the order will be executed
against the Priority Customer order. See Rules 716(e) & 721. These
Rules do not suggest that in this instance, the Priority Customer
would receive execution priority because such a trade would be
executed outside of the QCC or Solicitation Mechanism. We also note
that the transaction fee schedule applicable to QCC and Solicitation
orders would not apply to this trade.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange also proposes to eliminate transaction fees for
Professional Customers engaged in QCC and Solicitation orders as a
means of attracting more such orders to the Exchange and to retain the
business of Professional Customers vis-[agrave]-vis competing exchanges
that do not presently charge Professional Customers such fees.\12\ The
Exchange notes that a recent modification to the ISE Rules caused many
of its Priority Customers to be re-classified as Professional
Customers.\13\ Whereas these Customers, as Priority Customers,
previously incurred no fees for executing QCC and Solicitation orders,
they will incur such fees going forward as Professional Customers
absent the proposed rule change.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See NYSE AMEX Options Fee Schedule, effective Dec. 15,
2016, at https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/amex-options/NYSE_Amex_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf; NYSE Arca Options Fees and
Charges, effective Nov. 3, 2016, at https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/arca-options/NYSE_Arca_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf; NASDAQ
PHLX LLC Pricing Schedule, at https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Micro.aspx?id=phlxpricing.
\13\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-78788 (Sept. 8,
2016), 81 FR 63252 (Sept. 14, 2016) (SR-ISE-2016-19).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the extent that the Exchange proposes to eliminate fees for its
Professional Customers that execute QCC and Solicitation orders, the
rationale for providing rebates is diminished for QCC and other
solicited crossing orders involving Professional Customers trading with
other Professional Customers and with Priority Customers. Accordingly,
the Exchange proposes to reduce the levels of rebates it provides for
QCC and other solicited crossing orders involving Professional
Customers trading with other Professional Customers and with Priority
Customers to the same levels as it provides to such trades involving
two Priority Customers.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act,\14\ in general, and furthers the objectives of
Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\15\ 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, and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\15\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission and the courts have repeatedly expressed their
preference for competition over regulatory intervention in determining
prices, products, and services in the securities markets. In Regulation
NMS, while adopting a series of steps to improve the current market
model, the Commission highlighted the importance of market forces in
determining prices and SRO revenues and, also, recognized that current
regulation of the market system ``has been remarkably successful in
promoting market competition in its broader forms that are most
important to investors and listed companies.'' \16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9,
2005), 70 FR 37497, 37499 (June 29, 2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Likewise, in NetCoalition v. Securities and Exchange Commission
(``NetCoalition''),\17\ the D.C. Circuit upheld the Commission's use of
a market-based approach in evaluating the fairness of market data fees
against a challenge claiming that Congress mandated a cost-based
approach.\18\ As the court emphasized, the Commission ``intended in
Regulation NMS that `market forces, rather than regulatory
requirements' play a role in determining the market data . . . to be
made available to investors and at what cost.'' \19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ See id. at 534-535.
\18\ See id. at 534.
\19\ See id. at 537.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further, ``[n]o one disputes that competition for order flow is
`fierce.' . . . As the SEC explained, `[i]n the U.S. national market
system, buyers and sellers of securities, and the broker-dealers that
act as their order-routing agents, have a wide range of choices of
where to route orders for execution'; [and] `no exchange can afford to
take its market share percentages for granted' because `no exchange
possesses a monopoly, regulatory or otherwise, in the execution of
order flow from broker dealers'. . . .'' \20\ Although the court and
the SEC were discussing the cash equities markets, the Exchange
believes that these views apply with equal force to the options
markets.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ See id. at 539 (quoting Securities Exchange Act Release No.
59039 (December 2, 2008), 73 FR 74770, 74782-83 (December 9, 2008)
(SR-NYSEArca-2006-21).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is reasonable to no longer assess a transaction fee for
Professional Customer QCC and Solicitation orders and to pay a reduced
rebate on Professional Customer orders because the distinction that
necessitated the differentiation as between Priority Customer and
Professional Customer orders is not meaningful with respect to QCC and
Solicitation orders.
QCC orders are orders to buy or sell at least 1,000 contracts.\21\
These large-sized contingent orders are complex in nature and have a
stock-tied component, which requires the option leg to be executed at
the NBBO or better. The parties to a contingent trade are focused on
the spread or ratio between the transaction prices for each of the
component instruments (i.e., the net price of the entire contingent
trade), rather than on the absolute price of any single component.
Also, no Priority Customer priority exists with respect to QCC Orders
as with orders transacted within the order book. Permitting
Professional Customer orders to be treated similar to Priority Customer
orders with respect to this order type may attract more QCC and
Solicitation orders to the Exchange because the Exchange would no
longer assess a QCC or Solicitation order transaction fee for
Professional Customer orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\ See ISE Rule 715(j).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further, the Exchange recently amended its definition of a
Professional Customer to add specificity with respect to the manner in
which the volume threshold will be calculated to determine if orders
should be treated as Professional Customer.\22\ Currently, members are
required to review their Customers' activity on at least a quarterly
basis to determine whether orders that are not for the account of a
broker-dealer should be represented as Priority Customer orders or
Professional Customer orders.\23\ The Exchange anticipates that the
specificity added to the Professional Customer definition may cause
current market participants that mark orders as ``Priority Customer''
to be required to mark those orders as
[[Page 8247]]
``Professional Customer'' instead as the calendar quarter comes to a
close. Thus, orders that these market participants would have marked as
``Priority Customer,'' and that would not have been subject to a QCC
transaction fee, would, in absence of this proposal, be marked
``Professional Customer'' and incur a QCC transaction fee. With this
proposal, such Professional Customer orders would not be assessed a QCC
transaction fee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ See supra note 13.
\23\ Orders for any customer that had an average of more than
390 orders per day during any month of a calendar quarter must be
represented as Professional Orders for the next calendar quarter.
Members will be required to conduct a quarterly review and make any
appropriate changes to the way in which they are representing orders
within five days after the end of each calendar quarter. While
Members only will be required to review their accounts on a
quarterly basis, if during a quarter the Exchange identifies a
customer for which orders are being represented as Priority Customer
Orders but that has averaged more than 390 orders per day during a
month, the Exchange will notify the Member and the Member will be
required to change the manner in which it is representing the
customer's orders within five days. See 81 FR at 63253, n.4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that no longer assessing a QCC transaction
fee for Professional Customer orders and paying a reduced QCC rebate on
Professional Customer-to-Professional Customer and Professional
Customer-to-Priority Customer orders is equitable and not unfairly
discriminatory because QCC and Solicitation orders are distinctive from
transactions executed within the order book. Whereas orders executed
within the order book grant Priority Customers execution priority over
other market participants, QCC and Solicitation orders do not grant
execution priority.\24\ Insofar as the rationale for distinguishing
between Priority Customers and Professional Customers was to prevent
market professionals, which have access to sophisticated trading
systems with functionality unavailable to retail Customers, from taking
advantage of retail Customers' execution priority over non-retail
Customer orders,\25\ this rationale does not apply to QCC or
Solicitation orders. As the Commission noted when it approved the QCC
order type on the Exchange:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\24\ See supra note 11.
\25\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57254 (Feb. 1,
2008), 73 FR 7345, 7346 n.7 (Feb. 7, 2008).
The Commission believes that those customers participating in
QCC Orders will likely be sophisticated investors who should
understand that, without a requirement of exposure for QCC Orders,
their order would not be given an opportunity for price improvement
on the Exchange. These customers should be able to assess whether
the net prices they are receiving for their QCC Order are
competitive, and who will have the ability to choose among broker-
dealers if they believe the net price one broker-dealer provides is
not competitive. Further, broker-dealers are subject to a duty of
best execution for their customers' orders, and that duty does not
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
change for QCC Orders.\26\
\26\ See Securities and Exchange Act Release No. 63955 (February
24, 2011), 76 FR 11533 (March 2, 2011) (SR-ISE-2010-73).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thus, because of the size of the orders, the sophistication of the
investors involved, and the complexity of the transactions, pricing
differentiation between Priority Customer and Professional Customer
orders is unnecessary with respect to QCC and Solicitation orders.
With respect to distinguishing Professional Customer orders from
other Non-Customer participant orders, the Exchange notes that these
other market participants are distinct from Professional Customers for
purposes of assessing QCC transaction fees. With respect to Firm
Proprietary and Non-ISE Market Makers, for example, these market
participants are eligible for a Crossing Fee Cap of $75,000 per
month.\27\ These participants are not subject to QCC transaction fees
once the Crossing Fee Cap is met in a given month.\28\ Market Makers
are eligible for fee discounts, on a tiered basis, for regular orders
in non-select symbols.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ See ISE Fee Schedule, supra note 7, at 17.
\28\ See id.
\29\ See id. at 6-7, 12-13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insofar as the Exchange proposes to eliminate the fees it charges
to Professional Customers for QCC and Solicitation orders, the Exchange
believes that it would no longer be equitable to pay rebates at
existing levels to members acting as agent when Professional Customers
trade with Priority Customers and other Professional Customers for QCC
and other solicited crossing orders. Thus, the Exchange proposes to
reduce these rebates to the same levels as those it pays for QCC orders
involving Priority Customers trading with other Priority Customers.
Finally, the Exchange notes that the Commission recently approved a
similar proposal by Phlx to eliminate its QCC transactions fees and
rebates for its professional customers.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-77673 (Apr. 14,
2016), 81 FR 249009 (Apr. 21, 2016) (SR-Phlx-2016-51).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. In terms of inter-market
competition, the Exchange 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, the Exchange 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,
that the degree to which fee changes in this market may impose any
burden on competition is extremely limited.
The initial purpose of the distinction between a Priority Customer
order and a Professional Customer order was to prevent market
professionals, which have access to sophisticated trading systems that
contain functionality not available to retail Customers, from taking
advantage of Priority Customer priority, where retail Customer orders
are given execution priority over Non-Customer orders. Professional
Customer orders are identified based upon the average number of orders
entered for a beneficial account.\31\
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\31\ See supra note 25.
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QCC orders are by definition large-sized contingent orders that
have a stock-tied component. The parties to a contingent trade are
focused on the spread or ratio between the transaction prices for each
of the component instruments (i.e., the net price of the entire
contingent trade), rather than on the absolute price of any single
component. Treating Priority Customer orders and Professional Customer
orders in the same manner in terms of pricing with respect to QCC and
Solicitation orders does not provide any advantage to a Professional
Customer. The distinction does not create an opportunity to burden
competition, for the reasons stated herein with respect to execution
priority as well as the reasons below.
With respect to distinguishing Professional Customer orders from
other Non-Customer participant orders, the Exchange notes that these
other market participants are distinct from Professional Customers for
purposes of assessing QCC transaction fees. With respect to Firm
Proprietary and Non-ISE Market Makers, for example, these market
participants are eligible for a Crossing Fee Cap of $75,000 per
month.\32\ These participants are not subject to QCC transaction fees
once the Crossing Fee Cap is met in a given month.\33\ Market Makers
are eligible for fee discounts, on a tiered basis, for regular orders
in non-select symbols.\34\ Also, Priority Customer-to-Professional
Customer orders do not impose an undue burden on intra-market
[[Page 8248]]
competition for the reasons explained herein.
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\32\ See ISE Fee Schedule, supra note 7, at 17.
\33\ See id.
\34\ See id. at 6-7, 12-13.
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The Exchange's proposal does not place on undue burden on inter-
market competition because the QCC order type is similar on other
options exchanges and these exchanges may also file to eliminate the
distinction between Priority Customers and Professionals for the QCC
order type.\35\ The Exchange notes that the Commission recently
approved a similar proposal by Phlx to eliminate both its QCC
transactions fees and its rebates for its professional customers.\36\
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\35\ See supra note 12.
\36\ See supra note 30.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either solicited or received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act, 20 and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4
thereunder,21 [sic] because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge
imposed by ISE. At any time within 60 days of the filing of such
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. If
the Commission takes such action, the Commission shall institute
proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 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:
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-ISE-2017-01 on the subject line.
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-ISE-2017-01. 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 the filing also will be available
for inspection and copying at the principal office 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-ISE-2017-01 and should be
submitted by February 14, 2017.
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\37\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\37\
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-01466 Filed 1-23-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P