Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Rule 16000 Series, the Exchange's Compliance Rule Regarding the National Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail To Be Consistent With an Amendment to the CAT NMS Plan Recently Approved by the Commission, 50059-50062 [2020-17828]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 159 / Monday, August 17, 2020 / Notices 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. Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying information from comment submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR–CboeBZX–2020–065 and should be submitted on or before September 8, 2020. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.19 J. Matthew DeLesDernier, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2020–17823 Filed 8–14–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–89520; File No. SR–BOX– 2020–33] Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Rule 16000 Series, the Exchange’s Compliance Rule Regarding the National Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail To Be Consistent With an Amendment to the CAT NMS Plan Recently Approved by the Commission August 11, 2020. 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 5, 2020, BOX Exchange LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend the Rule 16000 Series, the Exchange’s 19 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 1 15 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:13 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 250001 compliance rule (‘‘Compliance Rule’’) regarding the National Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail (the ‘‘CAT NMS Plan’’ or ‘‘Plan’’) 3 to be consistent with an amendment to the CAT NMS Plan recently approved by the Commission. The text of the proposed rule change is available from the principal office of the Exchange, at the Commission’s Public Reference Room and also on the Exchange’s internet website at https:// boxoptions.com. 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 self-regulatory organization 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 self-regulatory organization 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 this proposed rule change is to amend the Rule 16000 Series, the Compliance Rule regarding the CAT NMS Plan, to be consistent with an amendment to the CAT NMS Plan recently approved by the Commission.4 The Commission approved an amendment to the CAT NMS Plan to amend the requirements for Firm Designated IDs in four ways: (1) To prohibit the use of account numbers as Firm Designated IDs for trading accounts that are not proprietary accounts; (2) to require that the Firm Designated ID for a trading account be persistent over time for each Industry Member so that a single account may be tracked across time within a single Industry Member; (3) to permit the use of relationship identifiers as Firm Designated IDs in certain circumstances; and (4) to permit the use of entity identifiers as Firm Designated IDs in certain circumstances (the ‘‘FDID Amendment’’). As a result, the Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in 3 Unless otherwise specified, capitalized terms used in this rule filing are defined as set forth in the Compliance Rule. 4 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89397 (July 24, 2020) (Federal Register pending). PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 50059 Rule 16010 to reflect the changes to the CAT NMS Plan regarding the requirements for Firm Designated IDs. Rule 16010(r) defines the term ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ to mean ‘‘a unique identifier for each trading account designated by Industry Members for purposes of providing data to the Central Repository, where each such identifier is unique among all identifiers from any given Industry Member for each business date.’’ (1) Prohibit Use of Account Numbers The Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in Rule 16010(r) to provide that Industry Members may not use account numbers as the Firm Designated ID for trading accounts that are not proprietary accounts. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to add the following to the definition of a Firm Designated ID: ‘‘provided, however, such identifier may not be the account number for such trading account if the trading account is not a proprietary account.’’ (2) Persistent Firm Designated ID The Exchange also proposes to amend the definition of ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in Rule 16010(r) to require a Firm Designated ID assigned by an Industry Member to a trading account to be persistent over time, not for each business day.5 To effect this change, the Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in Rule 16010(r) to add ‘‘and persistent’’ after ‘‘unique’’ and delete ‘‘for each business date’’ so that the definition of ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ would read, in relevant part, as follows: a unique and persistent identifier for each trading account designated by Industry Members for purposes of providing data to the Central Repository . . . where each such identifier is unique among all identifiers from any given Industry Member. (3) Relationship Identifiers The FDID Amendment also permits an Industry Member to provide a relationship identifier as the Firm 5 If an Industry Member assigns a new account number or entity identifier to a client or customer due to a merger, acquisition or some other corporate action, then the Industry Member should create a new Firm Designated ID to identify the new account identifier/relationship identifier/entity identifier in use at the Industry Member for the entity. In addition, if a previously assigned Firm Designated ID is no longer in use by an Industry Member (e.g., if the trading account associated with the Firm Designated ID has been closed), then an Industry Member may reuse the Firm Designated ID for another trading account. The Plan Processor will maintain a history of the use of each Firm Designated ID, including, for example, the effective dates of the Firm Designated ID with respect to each associated trading account. E:\FR\FM\17AUN1.SGM 17AUN1 50060 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 159 / Monday, August 17, 2020 / Notices Designated ID, rather than an identifier that represents a trading account, in certain scenarios in which an Industry Member does not have an account number available to its order handling and/or execution system at the time of order receipt (e.g., certain institutional accounts, managed accounts, accounts for individuals). In such scenarios, the trading account structure may not be available when a new order is first received from a client and, instead, only an identifier representing the client’s trading relationship is available. In these limited instances, the Industry Member may provide an identifier used by the Industry Member to represent the client’s trading relationship with the Industry Member instead of an account number. When a trading relationship is established at a broker-dealer for clients, the broker-dealer typically creates a parent account, under which additional subaccounts are created. However, in some cases, the broker-dealer establishes the parent relationship for a client using a relationship identifier as opposed to an actual parent account. The relationship identifier could be any of a variety of identifiers, such as a short name for a relevant individual or institution. This relationship identifier is established prior to any trading for the client. If a relationship identifier has been established rather than a parent account, and an order is placed on behalf of the client, any executed trades will be kept in a firm account (e.g., a facilitation or average price account) until they are allocated to the proper subaccount(s), i.e., the accounts associated with the parent relationship identifier connecting them to the client. Relationship identifiers are used in circumstances in which the account structure is not available to the trading system at the time of order placement. The clients have established accounts prior to the trade that satisfy relevant regulatory obligations for opening accounts, such as Know Your Customer and other customer obligations. However, the order receipt workflows operate using relationship identifiers, not accounts. For Firm Designated ID purposes, as with an identifier for a trading account, the relationship identifier must be persistent over time. The relationship identifier also must be unique among all identifiers from any given Industry Member. With these requirements, a single relationship could be tracked across time within a single Industry Member using the Firm Designated ID. In addition, the relationship identifier must be masked as the relationship identifier could be a name or otherwise VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:13 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 250001 provide an indication as to the identity of the relationship. The masking requirement would avoid potentially revealing the identity of the relationship. An example of the use of a relationship identifier as a Firm Designated ID would be as follows: Suppose that Big Fund Manager is known in Industry Member A’s systems as ‘‘BFM1.’’ When an order is placed by Big Fund Manager, the order is tagged to BFM1. Industry Member A could use a masked version of BFM1 in place of the Firm Designated ID representing a trading account when reporting a new order from Big Fund Manager instead of the account numbers to which executed shares/contracts will be allocated at a later time via a booking or other system. Similarly, another example of the use of a relationship identifier as a Firm Designated ID would involve an individual in place of the Big Fund Manager in the above example. In accordance with the FDID Amendment, the Exchange proposes to amend the definition of a ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in Rule 16010(r) to permit Industry Members to provide a relationship identifier as the Firm Designated ID as described above. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in Rule 16010(r) to state that a Firm Designated ID means, in relevant part, ‘‘a unique and persistent relationship identifier when an Industry Member does not have an account number available to its order handling and/or execution system at the time of order receipt, provided, however, such identifier must be masked.’’ (4) Entity Identifiers The FDID Amendment also permits Industry Members to provide an entity identifier, rather than an identifier that represents a trading account, when an employee of the Industry Member is exercising discretion over multiple client accounts and creates an aggregated order for which a trading account number of the Industry Member is not available at the time of order origination. An entity identifier is an identifier of the Industry Member that represents the firm discretionary relationship with the client rather than a firm trading account. The scenarios in which a firm uses an entity identifier are comparable to when a firm uses a relationship identifier (as described above) except the entity identifier represents the Industry Member rather than a client. As with relationship identifiers, entity identifiers are used in circumstances in which the account structure is not PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 available to the trading system at the time of order placement. In this workflow, the Industry Member’s order handling and/execution system does not have an account number at the time of order origination. The relevant clients that will receive an allocation of the execution have established accounts prior to the trade that satisfy relevant regulatory obligations for opening accounts, such as Know Your Customer and other customer obligations. However, the order origination workflows operate using entity identifiers, not accounts. For Firm Designated ID purposes, as with the identifier for a trading account or a relationship, the entity identifier must be persistent over time. The entity identifier also must be unique among all identifiers from any given Industry Member. Each Industry Member must make its own risk determination as to whether it believes it is necessary to mask the entity identifier when using an entity identifier to report the Firm Designated ID to CAT. An example of the use of an entity identifier as a Firm Designated ID would be when Industry Member 1 has an employee that is a registered representative that has discretion over several client accounts held at Industry Member 1. The registered representative places an order that he will later allocate to individual client accounts. At the time the order is placed, the trading system only knows it involves a representative of Industry Member 1 and it does not have a specific trading account that could be used for Firm Designated ID reporting. Therefore, Industry Member 1 could report IM1, its entity identifier, as the FDID with the new order. In accordance with the FDID Amendment, the Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in Rule 16010(r) to permit the use of an entity identifier as a Firm Designated ID as described above. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend the definition of a ‘‘Firm Designated ID’’ in Rule 16010(r) to state that a Firm Designated ID means, in relevant part, ‘‘a unique and persistent entity identifier when an employee of an Industry Member is exercising discretion over multiple client accounts and creates an aggregated order for which a trading account number of the Industry Member is not available at the time of order origination.’’ 2. Statutory Basis The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the E:\FR\FM\17AUN1.SGM 17AUN1 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 159 / Monday, August 17, 2020 / Notices requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act,6 in general, and Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,7 which require, among other things, that the Exchange’s rules must be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest, and Section 15A(b)(9) of the Act,8 Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,9 which requires that the Exchange’s rules not impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate. The Exchange believes that this proposal is consistent with the Act because it is consistent with, and implements, a recent amendment to the CAT NMS Plan, and is designed to assist the Exchange and its Industry Members in meeting regulatory obligations pursuant to the Plan. In approving the Plan, the SEC noted that the Plan ‘‘is necessary and appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a national market system, or is otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.’’ 10 To the extent that this proposal implements the Plan, and applies specific requirements to Industry Members, the Exchange believes that this proposal furthers the objectives of the Plan, as identified by the SEC, and is therefore consistent with the Act. B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Burden on Competition The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will result in any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange notes that the proposed rule changes are consistent with a recent amendment to the CAT NMS Plan, and are designed to assist the Exchange in meeting its regulatory obligations pursuant to the Plan. The Exchange also notes that the FDID Amendment will apply equally to all Industry Members that trade NMS Securities and OTC Equity Securities. In addition, all national securities exchanges and FINRA are proposing this amendment to their Compliance Rules. Therefore, this is not a competitive rule filing, and, therefore, it does not impose a burden on competition. 6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 8 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(9) [sic]. 9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8) 10 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79318 (November 15, 2016), 81 FR 84696, 84697 (November 23, 2016). 7 15 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:13 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 250001 C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others The Exchange has neither solicited nor received comments on the proposed rule change. III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action The Exchange has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 11 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.12 Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to 30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 13 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.14 A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 15 normally does not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of the filing. However, pursuant to Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii),16 the Commission may designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has asked the Commission to waive the 30-day operative delay so that the proposal may become operative upon filing. The Commission believes that waiver of the 30-day operative delay is consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest because it implements an amendment to the CAT NMS Plan approved by the Commission.17 Accordingly, the Commission hereby waives the 30-day operative delay and designates the proposal operative upon filing.18 11 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii). CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 13 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 14 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b– 4(f)(6)(iii) requires the Exchange to give the Commission written notice of the Exchange’s intent to file the proposed rule change, along with a brief description and text of the proposed rule change, at least five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission. The Exchange has satisfied this requirement. 15 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 16 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii). 17 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89397 (July 24, 2020) (Federal Register publication pending). 18 For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay, the Commission has considered the 12 17 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 50061 At any time within 60 days of the filing of this 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 will institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: 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– BOX–2020–33 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–BOX–2020–33. 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 website (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 website 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 proposed rule’s impact on efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). E:\FR\FM\17AUN1.SGM 17AUN1 50062 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 159 / Monday, August 17, 2020 / Notices office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying information from comment submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR–BOX–2020–33, and should be submitted on or before September 8, 2020. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.19 J. Matthew DeLesDernier, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2020–17828 Filed 8–14–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION RIN 3245–AH31 Small Business Innovation Research Program and Small Business Technology Transfer Program Policy Directive Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice of technical amendment; request for comment request for comments. AGENCY: The Small Business Administration is amending the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs Policy Directive to clarify that successor-ininterest entities are eligible to receive phase III awards. DATES: These revisions to the SBIR/ STTR Policy Directive take effect on October 1, 2020, without further action, unless significant adverse comment is received by September 16, 2020. If significant adverse comment is received, SBA will publish a timely withdrawal of the notice in the Federal Register. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by number SBA–2020–XXXX through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. SBA will post all comments on www.regulations.gov. Please do not submit confidential business information (CBI) as defined in the User Notice at www.regulations.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Shieh at (202) 205–6817 or Jennifer.shieh@sba.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: 19 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). VerDate Sep<11>2014 22:15 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 250001 I. Executive Summary The mission of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs is to engage small business concerns (SBCs) to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of Federal research and research and development (R/R&D) funding in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy. Both programs follow a threephase process throughout the Federal Government to solicit proposals and award funding agreements for R/R&D: Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III. The Small Business Act (the Act) requires that the Small Business Administration (SBA) issue a policy directive setting forth guidance to the Federal Agencies participating in the SBIR and STTR programs (Participating Agencies). The SBIR and STTR (SBIR/ STTR) Policy Directive outlines how agencies must generally conduct their programs. Each Participating Agency, however, may tailor its program to meet the needs of the individual Agency, as long as the general principles of the program set forth in the Act and directive are followed. Therefore, when incorporating SBIR/STTR policy into agency-specific regulations and procedures, Participating Agencies may develop and apply processes needed to implement the policy effectively; however, no Participating Agency may develop and apply policies, directives, or clauses, that contradict, weaken, or conflict with the policy as stated in the directive. SBA reviews its Policy Directive regularly to determine areas that need updating and further clarification. It has come to SBA’s attention that the language in section 6(a)(5) requires clarification to confirm for Participating Agencies and applicants that successorin-interest entities are eligible to receive phase III SBIR/STTR awards. Section 6(a) of the Policy Directive addresses eligibility to receive SBIR/STTR awards. Paragraph (5) of this section specifically relates to the eligibility of entities that have received a novated award, a similarly-revised award, or are successor-in-interest entities. SBA is clarifying this paragraph in order to confirm the Agency’s long-standing interpretation that permits successor-ininterest entities to receive phase III SBIR/STTR awards. II. Amendment Section 6—Eligibility and Application (Proposal) Requirements The Small Business Act describes the three-phase nature of the programs. The PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 first phase (phase I) award generally does not exceed $150,000 and is intended to fund the determination of the technical and scientific merit, and feasibility of ideas that appear to have commercial potential. See 15 U.S.C. 638(e)(4)(A). The second phase (phase II) award generally does not exceed $1,000,000 and is intended to further develop proposals with commercial potential. See id. at § 638(e)(4)(B). The final third phase award (phase III) is defined, as follows: (C) where appropriate, a third phase for work that derives from, extends, or completes efforts made under prior funding agreements under the SBIR program— (i) in which commercial applications of SBIR-funded research or research and development are funded by non-Federal sources of capital or, for products or services intended for use by the Federal Government, by follow-on non-SBIR Federal funding awards; or (ii) for which awards from non-SBIR Federal funding sources are used for the continuation of research or research and development that has been competitively selected using peer review or merit-based selection procedures; 15 U.S.C. 638(e)(4)(C) (emphasis added). One way that an SBC has achieved commercialization is through a phase III award. A major feature of the SBIR/STTR programs, and incentive for SBC participation, is that the Government receives a limited rights license in data developed under an SBIR/STTR award, which fosters a competitive advantage for the SBC, as opposed to potential larger competitors, to achieve commercialization. The Government’s limited rights license in SBIR/STTR data, combined with the statutory requirement for Participating Agencies to pursue phase III awards on a noncompetitive basis with the SBC that performed prior SBIR/STTR awards, is a central aspect of the program. The SBIR/STTR programs are intended to economically assist SBCs performing R/R&D work by creating an advantage for those firms to receive Government funding at the early often riskiest stage, from an investment perspective, through commercialization. This intention may be hindered if the SBC’s rights and interests in SBIR/STTR data cannot be assigned through a merger or sale with another business concern, along with the attendant incentives for non-competitive phase III awards. Such a policy interpretation would create inefficiencies in the marketplace and discourage valuations and transactions among businesses that may otherwise allow for greater investment in new ideas and products. E:\FR\FM\17AUN1.SGM 17AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 159 (Monday, August 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50059-50062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17828]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-89520; File No. SR-BOX-2020-33]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Rule 
16000 Series, the Exchange's Compliance Rule Regarding the National 
Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail To Be 
Consistent With an Amendment to the CAT NMS Plan Recently Approved by 
the Commission

August 11, 2020.
    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 5, 2020, BOX Exchange LLC (the ``Exchange'') filed with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule 
change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have been 
prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is 
publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule from 
interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend the Rule 16000 Series, the 
Exchange's compliance rule (``Compliance Rule'') regarding the National 
Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail (the ``CAT 
NMS Plan'' or ``Plan'') \3\ to be consistent with an amendment to the 
CAT NMS Plan recently approved by the Commission. The text of the 
proposed rule change is available from the principal office of the 
Exchange, at the Commission's Public Reference Room and also on the 
Exchange's internet website at https://boxoptions.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Unless otherwise specified, capitalized terms used in this 
rule filing are defined as set forth in the Compliance Rule.
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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 self-regulatory organization 
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 self-regulatory organization 
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 this proposed rule change is to amend the Rule 16000 
Series, the Compliance Rule regarding the CAT NMS Plan, to be 
consistent with an amendment to the CAT NMS Plan recently approved by 
the Commission.\4\ The Commission approved an amendment to the CAT NMS 
Plan to amend the requirements for Firm Designated IDs in four ways: 
(1) To prohibit the use of account numbers as Firm Designated IDs for 
trading accounts that are not proprietary accounts; (2) to require that 
the Firm Designated ID for a trading account be persistent over time 
for each Industry Member so that a single account may be tracked across 
time within a single Industry Member; (3) to permit the use of 
relationship identifiers as Firm Designated IDs in certain 
circumstances; and (4) to permit the use of entity identifiers as Firm 
Designated IDs in certain circumstances (the ``FDID Amendment''). As a 
result, the Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ``Firm 
Designated ID'' in Rule 16010 to reflect the changes to the CAT NMS 
Plan regarding the requirements for Firm Designated IDs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89397 (July 24, 2020) 
(Federal Register pending).
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    Rule 16010(r) defines the term ``Firm Designated ID'' to mean ``a 
unique identifier for each trading account designated by Industry 
Members for purposes of providing data to the Central Repository, where 
each such identifier is unique among all identifiers from any given 
Industry Member for each business date.''
(1) Prohibit Use of Account Numbers
    The Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ``Firm Designated 
ID'' in Rule 16010(r) to provide that Industry Members may not use 
account numbers as the Firm Designated ID for trading accounts that are 
not proprietary accounts. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to add 
the following to the definition of a Firm Designated ID: ``provided, 
however, such identifier may not be the account number for such trading 
account if the trading account is not a proprietary account.''
(2) Persistent Firm Designated ID
    The Exchange also proposes to amend the definition of ``Firm 
Designated ID'' in Rule 16010(r) to require a Firm Designated ID 
assigned by an Industry Member to a trading account to be persistent 
over time, not for each business day.\5\ To effect this change, the 
Exchange proposes to amend the definition of ``Firm Designated ID'' in 
Rule 16010(r) to add ``and persistent'' after ``unique'' and delete 
``for each business date'' so that the definition of ``Firm Designated 
ID'' would read, in relevant part, as follows:
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    \5\ If an Industry Member assigns a new account number or entity 
identifier to a client or customer due to a merger, acquisition or 
some other corporate action, then the Industry Member should create 
a new Firm Designated ID to identify the new account identifier/
relationship identifier/entity identifier in use at the Industry 
Member for the entity. In addition, if a previously assigned Firm 
Designated ID is no longer in use by an Industry Member (e.g., if 
the trading account associated with the Firm Designated ID has been 
closed), then an Industry Member may reuse the Firm Designated ID 
for another trading account. The Plan Processor will maintain a 
history of the use of each Firm Designated ID, including, for 
example, the effective dates of the Firm Designated ID with respect 
to each associated trading account.

    a unique and persistent identifier for each trading account 
designated by Industry Members for purposes of providing data to the 
Central Repository . . . where each such identifier is unique among 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
all identifiers from any given Industry Member.

(3) Relationship Identifiers
    The FDID Amendment also permits an Industry Member to provide a 
relationship identifier as the Firm

[[Page 50060]]

Designated ID, rather than an identifier that represents a trading 
account, in certain scenarios in which an Industry Member does not have 
an account number available to its order handling and/or execution 
system at the time of order receipt (e.g., certain institutional 
accounts, managed accounts, accounts for individuals). In such 
scenarios, the trading account structure may not be available when a 
new order is first received from a client and, instead, only an 
identifier representing the client's trading relationship is available. 
In these limited instances, the Industry Member may provide an 
identifier used by the Industry Member to represent the client's 
trading relationship with the Industry Member instead of an account 
number.
    When a trading relationship is established at a broker-dealer for 
clients, the broker-dealer typically creates a parent account, under 
which additional subaccounts are created. However, in some cases, the 
broker-dealer establishes the parent relationship for a client using a 
relationship identifier as opposed to an actual parent account. The 
relationship identifier could be any of a variety of identifiers, such 
as a short name for a relevant individual or institution. This 
relationship identifier is established prior to any trading for the 
client. If a relationship identifier has been established rather than a 
parent account, and an order is placed on behalf of the client, any 
executed trades will be kept in a firm account (e.g., a facilitation or 
average price account) until they are allocated to the proper 
subaccount(s), i.e., the accounts associated with the parent 
relationship identifier connecting them to the client.
    Relationship identifiers are used in circumstances in which the 
account structure is not available to the trading system at the time of 
order placement. The clients have established accounts prior to the 
trade that satisfy relevant regulatory obligations for opening 
accounts, such as Know Your Customer and other customer obligations. 
However, the order receipt workflows operate using relationship 
identifiers, not accounts.
    For Firm Designated ID purposes, as with an identifier for a 
trading account, the relationship identifier must be persistent over 
time. The relationship identifier also must be unique among all 
identifiers from any given Industry Member. With these requirements, a 
single relationship could be tracked across time within a single 
Industry Member using the Firm Designated ID. In addition, the 
relationship identifier must be masked as the relationship identifier 
could be a name or otherwise provide an indication as to the identity 
of the relationship. The masking requirement would avoid potentially 
revealing the identity of the relationship.
    An example of the use of a relationship identifier as a Firm 
Designated ID would be as follows: Suppose that Big Fund Manager is 
known in Industry Member A's systems as ``BFM1.'' When an order is 
placed by Big Fund Manager, the order is tagged to BFM1. Industry 
Member A could use a masked version of BFM1 in place of the Firm 
Designated ID representing a trading account when reporting a new order 
from Big Fund Manager instead of the account numbers to which executed 
shares/contracts will be allocated at a later time via a booking or 
other system. Similarly, another example of the use of a relationship 
identifier as a Firm Designated ID would involve an individual in place 
of the Big Fund Manager in the above example.
    In accordance with the FDID Amendment, the Exchange proposes to 
amend the definition of a ``Firm Designated ID'' in Rule 16010(r) to 
permit Industry Members to provide a relationship identifier as the 
Firm Designated ID as described above. Specifically, the Exchange 
proposes to amend the definition of ``Firm Designated ID'' in Rule 
16010(r) to state that a Firm Designated ID means, in relevant part, 
``a unique and persistent relationship identifier when an Industry 
Member does not have an account number available to its order handling 
and/or execution system at the time of order receipt, provided, 
however, such identifier must be masked.''
(4) Entity Identifiers
    The FDID Amendment also permits Industry Members to provide an 
entity identifier, rather than an identifier that represents a trading 
account, when an employee of the Industry Member is exercising 
discretion over multiple client accounts and creates an aggregated 
order for which a trading account number of the Industry Member is not 
available at the time of order origination. An entity identifier is an 
identifier of the Industry Member that represents the firm 
discretionary relationship with the client rather than a firm trading 
account.
    The scenarios in which a firm uses an entity identifier are 
comparable to when a firm uses a relationship identifier (as described 
above) except the entity identifier represents the Industry Member 
rather than a client. As with relationship identifiers, entity 
identifiers are used in circumstances in which the account structure is 
not available to the trading system at the time of order placement. In 
this workflow, the Industry Member's order handling and/execution 
system does not have an account number at the time of order 
origination. The relevant clients that will receive an allocation of 
the execution have established accounts prior to the trade that satisfy 
relevant regulatory obligations for opening accounts, such as Know Your 
Customer and other customer obligations. However, the order origination 
workflows operate using entity identifiers, not accounts.
    For Firm Designated ID purposes, as with the identifier for a 
trading account or a relationship, the entity identifier must be 
persistent over time. The entity identifier also must be unique among 
all identifiers from any given Industry Member. Each Industry Member 
must make its own risk determination as to whether it believes it is 
necessary to mask the entity identifier when using an entity identifier 
to report the Firm Designated ID to CAT.
    An example of the use of an entity identifier as a Firm Designated 
ID would be when Industry Member 1 has an employee that is a registered 
representative that has discretion over several client accounts held at 
Industry Member 1. The registered representative places an order that 
he will later allocate to individual client accounts. At the time the 
order is placed, the trading system only knows it involves a 
representative of Industry Member 1 and it does not have a specific 
trading account that could be used for Firm Designated ID reporting. 
Therefore, Industry Member 1 could report IM1, its entity identifier, 
as the FDID with the new order.
    In accordance with the FDID Amendment, the Exchange proposes to 
amend the definition of ``Firm Designated ID'' in Rule 16010(r) to 
permit the use of an entity identifier as a Firm Designated ID as 
described above. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend the 
definition of a ``Firm Designated ID'' in Rule 16010(r) to state that a 
Firm Designated ID means, in relevant part, ``a unique and persistent 
entity identifier when an employee of an Industry Member is exercising 
discretion over multiple client accounts and creates an aggregated 
order for which a trading account number of the Industry Member is not 
available at the time of order origination.''
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the

[[Page 50061]]

requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act,\6\ in general, and Section 
6(b)(5) of the Act,\7\ which require, among other things, that the 
Exchange's rules must be designed to prevent fraudulent and 
manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable 
principles of trade, and, in general, to protect investors and the 
public interest, and Section 15A(b)(9) of the Act,\8\ Section 6(b)(8) 
of the Act,\9\ which requires that the Exchange's rules not impose any 
burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(9) [sic].
    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange believes that this proposal is consistent with the Act 
because it is consistent with, and implements, a recent amendment to 
the CAT NMS Plan, and is designed to assist the Exchange and its 
Industry Members in meeting regulatory obligations pursuant to the 
Plan. In approving the Plan, the SEC noted that the Plan ``is necessary 
and appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors 
and the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments 
to, and perfect the mechanism of a national market system, or is 
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.'' \10\ To the 
extent that this proposal implements the Plan, and applies specific 
requirements to Industry Members, the Exchange believes that this 
proposal furthers the objectives of the Plan, as identified by the SEC, 
and is therefore consistent with the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79318 (November 15, 
2016), 81 FR 84696, 84697 (November 23, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
result in any burden on competition that is not necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange 
notes that the proposed rule changes are consistent with a recent 
amendment to the CAT NMS Plan, and are designed to assist the Exchange 
in meeting its regulatory obligations pursuant to the Plan. The 
Exchange also notes that the FDID Amendment will apply equally to all 
Industry Members that trade NMS Securities and OTC Equity Securities. 
In addition, all national securities exchanges and FINRA are proposing 
this amendment to their Compliance Rules. Therefore, this is not a 
competitive rule filing, and, therefore, it does not impose a burden on 
competition.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    The Exchange has neither solicited nor received comments on the 
proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The Exchange has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \11\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder.\12\ 
Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the 
protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any 
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to 
30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as 
the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of 
investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become 
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \13\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.\14\
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
    \12\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \14\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) 
requires the Exchange to give the Commission written notice of the 
Exchange's intent to file the proposed rule change, along with a 
brief description and text of the proposed rule change, at least 
five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule 
change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission. The 
Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \15\ normally 
does not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of the 
filing. However, pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii),\16\ the Commission 
may designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the 
protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has asked 
the Commission to waive the 30-day operative delay so that the proposal 
may become operative upon filing. The Commission believes that waiver 
of the 30-day operative delay is consistent with the protection of 
investors and the public interest because it implements an amendment to 
the CAT NMS Plan approved by the Commission.\17\ Accordingly, the 
Commission hereby waives the 30-day operative delay and designates the 
proposal operative upon filing.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \16\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
    \17\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89397 (July 24, 
2020) (Federal Register publication pending).
    \18\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay, 
the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact on 
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 
78c(f).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At any time within 60 days of the filing of this 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 will institute proceedings to 
determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or 
disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an email to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-BOX-2020-33 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-BOX-2020-33. 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 website (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 website 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

[[Page 50062]]

office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without 
change. Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact 
or edit personal identifying information from comment submissions. You 
should submit only information that you wish to make available 
publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-BOX-2020-33, 
and should be submitted on or before September 8, 2020.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-17828 Filed 8-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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