Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Exchange's Transaction Fees at Chapter XV, Section 2 Entitled “NASDAQ Options Market-Fees and Rebates”, 41298-41300 [2017-18352]
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<![CDATA[
41298
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Notices
at https://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com, at
the principal office of the Exchange, and
at the Commission’s Public Reference
Room.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–81479; File No. SR–
NASDAQ–2017–083]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of
Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
Exchange’s Transaction Fees at
Chapter XV, Section 2 Entitled
‘‘NASDAQ Options Market—Fees and
Rebates’’
August 24, 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 August
16, 2017, The NASDAQ Stock Market
LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’ 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.
electronic equity and ETF options
volume to the Exchange from non-NOM
Participants as well as NOM
Participants.
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.
Background
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend the
Exchange’s transaction fees at Chapter
XV, Section 2 entitled ‘‘NASDAQ
Options Market—Fees and Rebates
The text of the proposed rule change
is available on the Exchange’s Web site
1. Purpose
NOM proposes to amend the MARS
subsidy program which pays a subsidy
to NOM Participants that provide
certain order routing functionalities to
other NOM Participants and/or use such
functionalities themselves. Generally,
under MARS, the Exchange pays
participating NOM Participants to
subsidize their costs of providing
routing services to route orders to NOM.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed amendment to MARS will
continue to attract higher volumes of
Average
daily volume
(‘‘ADV’’)
Tiers
1
2
3
4
5
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Specifically, the specified MARS
Payment are paid on all executed
Eligible Contracts that add liquidity,
which are routed to NOM through a
participating NOM Participant’s System
and meet the requisite Eligible Contracts
ADV. No payments are made with
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 Any NOM Participant is permitted to avail itself
of this arrangement, provided that its order routing
functionality incorporates the features described
herein and the Participant satisfies NOM that it
appears to be robust and reliable. Participants
remain solely responsible for implementing and
operating its System.
4 For the purpose of qualifying for the MARS
Payment, Eligible Contracts may include Firm, Non2 17
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17:40 Aug 29, 2017
Jkt 241001
Today, to qualify for MARS, a NOM
Participant’s routing system (hereinafter
‘‘System’’) is required to meet certain
criteria. Specifically the Participant’s
System is required to: (1) Enable the
electronic routing of orders to all of the
U.S. options exchanges, including
NOM; (2) provide current consolidated
market data from the U.S. options
exchanges; and (3) be capable of
interfacing with NOM’s API to access
current NOM match engine
functionality. The NOM Participant’s
System would also need to cause NOM
to be one of the top three default
destination exchanges for (a)
individually executed marketable orders
if NOM is at the national best bid or
offer (‘‘NBBO’’), regardless of size or
time, (b) orders that establish a new
NBBO on NOM’s Order Book, but allow
any user to manually override NOM as
the default destination on an order-byorder basis.3
MARS Payment are made to NOM
Participants that have System Eligibility
and have routed the requisite number of
Eligible Contracts daily in a month
(‘‘Average Daily Volume’’), which were
executed on NOM.4 Today, NOM
Participants that have System Eligibility
and have executed the requisite number
of Eligible Contracts in a month will be
paid the following rebates: 5
respect to orders that are routed to
NOM, but not executed.6
Amendment to MARS Payment
The Exchange proposes to amend the
MARS Payment tiers at Chapter XV,
Section 2(6) by amending current tier 1
NOM Market Maker, Broker-Dealer, or Joint Back
Office or ‘‘JBO’’ equity option orders that add
liquidity and are electronically delivered and
executed. Eligible Contracts do not include Mini
Option orders.
5 The specified MARS Payment are paid on all
executed Eligible Contracts that add liquidity,
which are routed to NOM through a participating
NOM Participant’s System and meet the requisite
Eligible Contracts ADV. No payment [sic] are made
with respect to orders that are routed to NOM, but
PO 00000
Frm 00092
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2,500
5,000
10,000
20,000
45,000
MARS
payment
(penny)
MARS
payment
(non-penny)
* $0.07
* $0.15
* 0.09
* 0.20
* 0.11
* 0.30
* 0.15
* 0.50
* 0.17
* 0.60
to require an ADV of 2,000 contracts
instead of the current ADV of 2,500
contracts. The Exchange would
continue to pay a $0.07 per contract
MARS Payment for Penny Options and
a $0.15 per contract rebate for Nonnot executed. Also, a Participant is not be [sic]
entitled to receive any other revenue from the
Exchange for the use of its System specifically with
respect to orders routed to NOM.
6 A Participant is not entitled to receive any other
revenue from the Exchange for the use of its System
specifically with respect to orders routed to NOM.
7 Today, NOM Participants that qualify for
Customer and Professional Penny Pilot Options
E:\FR\FM\30AUN1.SGM
30AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Notices
Penny Options.7 All other tiers would
remain unchanged. The Exchange
believes that the proposed change to the
MARS Payment will attract additional
liquidity to NOM.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its
proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)
of the Act,8 in general, and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5)
of the Act,9 in particular, in that it
provides for the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees and other charges
among Participants and issuers and
other persons using any facility or
system which the Exchange operates or
controls, and is not designed to permit
unfair discrimination between
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
The Exchange’s proposal to amend
Tier 1 to lower the requisite ADV from
2,500 to 2,000 contracts and continue to
pay a MARS Payment of $0.07 per
contract for Penny Pilot Options and
$0.15 per contract for Non-Penny Pilot
Options is reasonable because
additional Participants would be able to
qualify for a Tier 1 rebate, because of the
lower requirement, provided the
Participant has System Eligibility and
executes the requisite ADV of Eligible
Contracts. The Exchange believes this
amendment may attract higher volumes
of electronic equity and ETF options
volume to NOM, which would in turn
benefit all NOM Participants by offering
greater price discovery, increased
transparency, and an increased
opportunity to trade on the Exchange.
Also, the proposal should enhance the
competitiveness of the Exchange,
particularly with respect to those
exchanges that offer their own front-end
order entry system or one they subsidize
in some manner. The amendment to
Tier 1 may incentivize NOM
Participants to participate in MARS to
obtain the rebate, provided the NOM
Participant is eligible for MARS.
Further, the tier structure will continue
to allow NOM Participants to price their
services at a level that will enable them
to attract order flow from market
participants who would otherwise
utilize an existing front-end order entry
Rebate to Add Liquidity Tier 8 in Section 2(1)
receive $0.09 per contract in addition to any MARS
Payment tier on MARS Eligible Contracts the NOM
Participant qualifies for in a given month. This
would remain unchanged.
8 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
mechanism offered by the Exchange’s
competitors instead of incurring the cost
in time and money to develop their own
internal systems to be able to deliver
orders directly to the Exchange’s
System.
The Exchange’s proposal to amend
Tier 1 to lower the requisite ADV from
2,500 to 2,000 contracts and continue to
pay a MARS Payment of $0.07 per
contract for Penny Pilot Options and
$0.15 per contract for Non-Penny Pilot
Options is equitable and not unfairly
discriminatory because the Exchange
will uniformly pay all NOM Participants
the rebates specified in the proposed
MARS Payment tiers provided the NOM
Participant has executed the requisite
ADV of Eligible Contracts. Moreover,
the Exchange believes that the proposed
MARS Payments offered by the
Exchange are equitable and not unfairly
discriminatory because any qualifying
NOM Participant that offers market
access and connectivity to the Exchange
and/or utilize such functionality
themselves may earn the MARS
Payment for all Eligible Contracts.
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.
The Exchange’s proposal to amend
Tier 1 to lower the requisite ADV from
2,500 to 2,000 contracts and continue to
pay a MARS Payment of $0.07 per
contract for Penny Pilot Options and
$0.15 per contract for Non-Penny Pilot
Options does not impose an undue
burden on intra-market competition
because the Exchange will uniformly
pay all NOM Participants the MARS
Payments specified in the proposed
MARS Payment tiers for Penny and
Non-Penny Pilot Options provided the
NOM Participant has executed the
requisite number of Eligible Contracts.
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.
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17:40 Aug 29, 2017
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PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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41299
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.10
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: (i) Necessary or appropriate in
the public interest; (ii) for the protection
of investors; or (iii) 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–
NASDAQ–2017–083 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–NASDAQ–2017–083. 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.,
10 15
E:\FR\FM\30AUN1.SGM
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
30AUN1
41300
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Notices
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–
NASDAQ–2017–083, and should be
submitted on or before September 20,
2017.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.11
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–18352 Filed 8–29–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–81478; File No. SR–NYSE–
2017–31]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; New
York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of
Designation of Longer Period for
Commission Action on Proposed Rule
Change To Amend the Listed Company
Manual To Adopt Initial and Continued
Listing Standards for Subscription
Receipts
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
August 24, 2017.
On June 26, 2017, New York Stock
Exchange LLC (‘‘NYSE’’ or the
‘‘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
amend the Listed Company Manual to
adopt initial and continued listing
standards for Subscription Receipts. The
proposed rule change was published for
comment in the Federal Register on July
13, 2017.3 The Commission received no
comments regarding the proposal.
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 4 provides
that within 45 days of the publication of
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
11 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81102
(July 7, 2017), 82 FR 32413.
4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
1 15
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:40 Aug 29, 2017
Jkt 241001
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 August 27, 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 proposed rule change.
Accordingly, pursuant to Section
19(b)(2) of the Act 5 and for the reasons
stated above, the Commission
designates October 11, 2017, as the date
by which the Commission should either
approve or disapprove, or institute
proceedings to determine whether to
disapprove, the proposed rule change
(File No. SR–NYSE–2017–31).
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.6
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–18351 Filed 8–29–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
[Disaster Declaration #15259 and #15260;
Oklahoma Disaster Number OK–00117]
Administrative Declaration of a
Disaster for the State of Oklahoma
U.S. Small Business
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This is a notice of an
Administrative declaration of a disaster
for the State of Oklahoma dated August
22, 2017.
DATES: Issued on 08/22/2017.
Physical Loan Application Deadline
Date: 10/23/2017.
Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan
Application Deadline Date: 05/22/2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan
applications to: U.S. Small Business
Administration, Processing and
Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport
Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A.
Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance,
U.S. Small Business Administration,
409 3rd Street SW., Suite 6050,
Washington, DC 20416, (202) 205–6734.
SUMMARY:
5 15
6 17
PO 00000
U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
CFR 200.30–3(a)(31).
Frm 00094
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Notice is
hereby given that as a result of the
Administrator’s disaster declaration,
applications for disaster loans may be
filed at the address listed above or other
locally announced locations.
Incident: Tornadoes, Severe Storms,
Straight-line Winds and Flooding.
Incident Period: 08/05/2017 through
08/14/2017.
The following areas have been
determined to be adversely affected by
the disaster:
Primary Counties: Tulsa
Contiguous Counties:
Oklahoma: Creek, Okmulgee, Osage,
Pawnee, Rogers, Wagoner,
Washington.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Interest Rates are:
Percent
For Physical Damage:
Homeowners With Credit Available Elsewhere ......................
Homeowners Without Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Businesses With Credit Available Elsewhere ......................
Businesses
Without
Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Non-Profit Organizations With
Credit Available Elsewhere ...
Non-Profit Organizations Without Credit Available Elsewhere .....................................
For Economic Injury:
Businesses & Small Agricultural
Cooperatives Without Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Non-Profit Organizations Without Credit Available Elsewhere .....................................
3.500
1.750
6.610
3.305
2.500
2.500
3.305
2.500
The number assigned to this disaster
for physical damage is 15259 C and for
economic injury is 15260 0.
The State which received an EIDL
Declaration # is Oklahoma.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Number 59008)
Dated: August 22, 2017.
Linda E. McMahon,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017–18373 Filed 8–29–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025–01–P
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Disaster Declaration #15249 and
#15250; WISCONSIN Disaster Number
WI–00060 Administrative Declaration
of a Disaster for the State of
WISCONSIN
U.S. Small Business
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\30AUN1.SGM
30AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41298-41300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18352]
[[Page 41298]]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-81479; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2017-083]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC;
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To
Amend the Exchange's Transaction Fees at Chapter XV, Section 2 Entitled
``NASDAQ Options Market--Fees and Rebates''
August 24, 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 August 16, 2017, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq'' 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 Exchange's transaction fees at
Chapter XV, Section 2 entitled ``NASDAQ Options Market--Fees and
Rebates
The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's
Web site at https://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.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 the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
NOM proposes to amend the MARS subsidy program which pays a subsidy
to NOM Participants that provide certain order routing functionalities
to other NOM Participants and/or use such functionalities themselves.
Generally, under MARS, the Exchange pays participating NOM Participants
to subsidize their costs of providing routing services to route orders
to NOM. The Exchange believes that the proposed amendment to MARS will
continue to attract higher volumes of electronic equity and ETF options
volume to the Exchange from non-NOM Participants as well as NOM
Participants.
Background
Today, to qualify for MARS, a NOM Participant's routing system
(hereinafter ``System'') is required to meet certain criteria.
Specifically the Participant's System is required to: (1) Enable the
electronic routing of orders to all of the U.S. options exchanges,
including NOM; (2) provide current consolidated market data from the
U.S. options exchanges; and (3) be capable of interfacing with NOM's
API to access current NOM match engine functionality. The NOM
Participant's System would also need to cause NOM to be one of the top
three default destination exchanges for (a) individually executed
marketable orders if NOM is at the national best bid or offer
(``NBBO''), regardless of size or time, (b) orders that establish a new
NBBO on NOM's Order Book, but allow any user to manually override NOM
as the default destination on an order-by-order basis.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Any NOM Participant is permitted to avail itself of this
arrangement, provided that its order routing functionality
incorporates the features described herein and the Participant
satisfies NOM that it appears to be robust and reliable.
Participants remain solely responsible for implementing and
operating its System.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARS Payment are made to NOM Participants that have System
Eligibility and have routed the requisite number of Eligible Contracts
daily in a month (``Average Daily Volume''), which were executed on
NOM.\4\ Today, NOM Participants that have System Eligibility and have
executed the requisite number of Eligible Contracts in a month will be
paid the following rebates: \5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ For the purpose of qualifying for the MARS Payment, Eligible
Contracts may include Firm, Non-NOM Market Maker, Broker-Dealer, or
Joint Back Office or ``JBO'' equity option orders that add liquidity
and are electronically delivered and executed. Eligible Contracts do
not include Mini Option orders.
\5\ The specified MARS Payment are paid on all executed Eligible
Contracts that add liquidity, which are routed to NOM through a
participating NOM Participant's System and meet the requisite
Eligible Contracts ADV. No payment [sic] are made with respect to
orders that are routed to NOM, but not executed. Also, a Participant
is not be [sic] entitled to receive any other revenue from the
Exchange for the use of its System specifically with respect to
orders routed to NOM.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average daily
Tiers volume MARS payment MARS payment
(``ADV'') (penny) (non-penny)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................................................... 2,500 \*\ $0.07 \*\ $0.15
2............................................................... 5,000 \*\ 0.09 \*\ 0.20
3............................................................... 10,000 \*\ 0.11 \*\ 0.30
4............................................................... 20,000 \*\ 0.15 \*\ 0.50
5............................................................... 45,000 \*\ 0.17 \*\ 0.60
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifically, the specified MARS Payment are paid on all executed
Eligible Contracts that add liquidity, which are routed to NOM through
a participating NOM Participant's System and meet the requisite
Eligible Contracts ADV. No payments are made with respect to orders
that are routed to NOM, but not executed.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ A Participant is not entitled to receive any other revenue
from the Exchange for the use of its System specifically with
respect to orders routed to NOM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amendment to MARS Payment
The Exchange proposes to amend the MARS Payment tiers at Chapter
XV, Section 2(6) by amending current tier 1 to require an ADV of 2,000
contracts instead of the current ADV of 2,500 contracts. The Exchange
would continue to pay a $0.07 per contract MARS Payment for Penny
Options and a $0.15 per contract rebate for Non-
[[Page 41299]]
Penny Options.\7\ All other tiers would remain unchanged. The Exchange
believes that the proposed change to the MARS Payment will attract
additional liquidity to NOM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Today, NOM Participants that qualify for Customer and
Professional Penny Pilot Options Rebate to Add Liquidity Tier 8 in
Section 2(1) receive $0.09 per contract in addition to any MARS
Payment tier on MARS Eligible Contracts the NOM Participant
qualifies for in a given month. This would remain unchanged.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act,\8\ in general, and furthers the objectives of Sections
6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\9\ in particular, in that it provides
for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges
among Participants and issuers and other persons using any facility or
system which the Exchange operates or controls, and is not designed to
permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or
dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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The Exchange's proposal to amend Tier 1 to lower the requisite ADV
from 2,500 to 2,000 contracts and continue to pay a MARS Payment of
$0.07 per contract for Penny Pilot Options and $0.15 per contract for
Non-Penny Pilot Options is reasonable because additional Participants
would be able to qualify for a Tier 1 rebate, because of the lower
requirement, provided the Participant has System Eligibility and
executes the requisite ADV of Eligible Contracts. The Exchange believes
this amendment may attract higher volumes of electronic equity and ETF
options volume to NOM, which would in turn benefit all NOM Participants
by offering greater price discovery, increased transparency, and an
increased opportunity to trade on the Exchange. Also, the proposal
should enhance the competitiveness of the Exchange, particularly with
respect to those exchanges that offer their own front-end order entry
system or one they subsidize in some manner. The amendment to Tier 1
may incentivize NOM Participants to participate in MARS to obtain the
rebate, provided the NOM Participant is eligible for MARS. Further, the
tier structure will continue to allow NOM Participants to price their
services at a level that will enable them to attract order flow from
market participants who would otherwise utilize an existing front-end
order entry mechanism offered by the Exchange's competitors instead of
incurring the cost in time and money to develop their own internal
systems to be able to deliver orders directly to the Exchange's System.
The Exchange's proposal to amend Tier 1 to lower the requisite ADV
from 2,500 to 2,000 contracts and continue to pay a MARS Payment of
$0.07 per contract for Penny Pilot Options and $0.15 per contract for
Non-Penny Pilot Options is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory
because the Exchange will uniformly pay all NOM Participants the
rebates specified in the proposed MARS Payment tiers provided the NOM
Participant has executed the requisite ADV of Eligible Contracts.
Moreover, the Exchange believes that the proposed MARS Payments offered
by the Exchange are equitable and not unfairly discriminatory because
any qualifying NOM Participant that offers market access and
connectivity to the Exchange and/or utilize such functionality
themselves may earn the MARS Payment for all Eligible Contracts.
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.
The Exchange's proposal to amend Tier 1 to lower the requisite ADV
from 2,500 to 2,000 contracts and continue to pay a MARS Payment of
$0.07 per contract for Penny Pilot Options and $0.15 per contract for
Non-Penny Pilot Options does not impose an undue burden on intra-market
competition because the Exchange will uniformly pay all NOM
Participants the MARS Payments specified in the proposed MARS Payment
tiers for Penny and Non-Penny Pilot Options provided the NOM
Participant has executed the requisite number of Eligible Contracts.
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.\10\
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\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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: (i)
Necessary or appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the
protection of investors; or (iii) 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-NASDAQ-2017-083 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-NASDAQ-2017-083. 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.,
[[Page 41300]]
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-NASDAQ-2017-083, and should
be submitted on or before September 20, 2017.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\11\
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\11\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-18352 Filed 8-29-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
