Self-Regulatory Organizations; the Options Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing of Advance Notice Related to Proposed Changes To Update the Options Clearing Corporation's Recovery and Orderly Wind-Down Plan, 73553-73556 [2020-25441]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 223 / Wednesday, November 18, 2020 / Notices
comments on the advance notice from
interested persons.
Commission of any written comments
received by OCC.
I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the
Terms of Substance of the Advance
Notice
(B) Advance Notices Filed Pursuant to
Section 806(e) of the Payment, Clearing,
and Settlement Supervision Act
Description of the Proposed Change
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
This advance notice is submitted in
connection with a proposed change to
update OCC’s Recovery and Orderly
Wind-Down Plan (‘‘RWD Plan’’ or
‘‘Plan’’), adopted pursuant to the
requirement in Rule 17Ad–22(e)(3)(ii),4
to reflect: (i) Changes to OCC’s capital
structure resulting from the disapproval
of OCC’s previously approved ‘‘Capital
Plan’’ 5 and the subsequent approval of
OCC’s ‘‘Capital Management Policy,’’ 6
and (ii) changes made to each chapter of
the Plan during OCC’s annual internal
review and update of the Plan, as
required by OCC’s internal governance.
The RWD Plan is included as
confidential Exhibit 5 to SR–OCC–
2020–806. Material proposed to be
added is marked by underlining and
material proposed to be deleted is
marked by strikethrough text.7 The
proposed changes are described in
detail in Item II below. All terms with
initial capitalization not defined herein
have the same meaning as set forth in
OCC’s By-Laws and Rules.8
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
II. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the
Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the
Advance Notice
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
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–PEARL–2020–24 and
should be submitted on or before
December 9, 2020.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.18
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–25382 Filed 11–17–20; 8:45 am]
[Release No. 34–90416; File No. SR–OCC–
2020–806]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; the
Options Clearing Corporation; Notice
of Filing of Advance Notice Related to
Proposed Changes To Update the
Options Clearing Corporation’s
Recovery and Orderly Wind-Down Plan
November 13, 2020.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
73553
Pursuant to Section 806(e)(1) of Title
VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act,
entitled Payment, Clearing and
Settlement Supervision Act of 2010
(‘‘Clearing Supervision Act’’) 1 and Rule
19b–4(n)(1)(i) 2 under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’ or
‘‘Exchange Act’’),3 notice is hereby
given that on October 20, 2020, the
Options Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’)
filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) an
advance notice as described in Items I,
II and III below, which Items have been
prepared by OCC. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
18 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 5465(e)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4(n)(1)(i).
3 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.
1 12
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:59 Nov 17, 2020
Jkt 253001
In its filing with the Commission,
OCC included statements concerning
the purpose of and basis for the advance
notice and discussed any comments it
received on the advance notice. The text
of these statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below.
OCC has prepared summaries, set forth
in sections A and B below, of the most
significant aspects of these statements.
(A) Clearing Agency’s Statement on
Comments on the Advance Notice
Received From Members, Participants or
Others
Written comments were not and are
not intended to be solicited with respect
to the advance notice and none have
been received. OCC will notify the
4 17
CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(3)(ii).
Exchange Act Release No. 85121 (Feb.
13, 2019), 84 FR 5157 (Feb. 20, 2019) (SR–OCC–
2015–02).
6 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86725
(Aug. 21, 2019), 84 FR 44952 (Aug. 27, 2019) (SR–
OCC–2019–007).
7 OCC has also filed a proposed rule change with
the Commission in connection with this proposal.
See SR–OCC–2020–013.
8 OCC’s By-Laws and Rules can be found on
OCC’s public website: https://www.theocc.com/
Company-Information/Documents-and-Archives/
By-Laws-and-Rules.
5 Securities
PO 00000
Frm 00099
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Background
On August 23, 2018, the Commission
approved OCC’s proposed rule change
to formalize and update OCC’s RWD
Plan, consistent with the requirements
of Rule 17Ad–22(e)(3)(ii).9 As approved,
the RWD Plan incorporated key pieces
of OCC’s previously approved Capital
Plan, including but not limited to the
Capital Plan’s provision for
‘‘Replenishment Capital.’’ 10 In OCC’s
RWD Plan, Replenishment Capital was
one of the tools by which OCC could
have recapitalized in certain of its
recovery and wind-down scenarios.
On February 13, 2019, the
Commission disapproved OCC’s Capital
Plan.11 The disapproval of the Capital
Plan left OCC’s RWD Plan with several
invalid references to the Capital Plan or
to certain of its component parts,
including references to Replenishment
Capital as one of OCC’s identified tools
for recovery and wind-down and
references to a trigger event within the
Capital Plan as one of OCC’s recovery
triggers. As a result of the disapproval
of the Capital Plan, OCC subsequently
proposed the ‘‘Capital Management
Policy,’’ which among other things
establishes a new mechanism for
funding OCC’s replenishment capital
and changes OCC’s ‘‘default waterfall’’
(i.e., the resources available to OCC in
the event of a Clearing Member’s
suspension).12 These changes to OCC’s
replenishment capital and default
waterfall necessitated changes to
existing passages concerning the same
in the RWD Plan.
In addition, OCC has made changes to
its RWD Plan as a result of its annual
review and update process. As adopted,
the RWD Plan itself recognizes OCC’s
internal governance requirement to
review and update the Plan at least
every twelve months. Accordingly,
during the first several months of 2019
9 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83918
(Aug. 23, 2018), 83 FR 44091 (Aug. 29, 2018) (SR–
OCC–2017–021).
10 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 74452
(Mar. 6, 2015), 80 FR 13058 (Mar. 12, 2015) (SR–
OCC–2015–02). The Capital Plan was a previously
approved plan for raising additional capital under
which the securities options exchanges that own
equity in OCC committed to contributing additional
capital to OCC under certain conditions and
provided for the provision of further Replenishment
Capital in certain circumstances.
11 See supra note 5.
12 See supra note 6.
E:\FR\FM\18NON1.SGM
18NON1
73554
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 223 / Wednesday, November 18, 2020 / Notices
and 2020, an internal, cross-disciplinary
working group within OCC conducted a
review and recommended numerous
changes to the RWD Plan, which were
approved by OCC’s management, the
Risk Committee of OCC’s Board of
Directors (‘‘Board’’) and OCC’s Board.
The changes resulting from the adoption
of the Capital Management Policy and
the changes from OCC’s annual review
process are discussed in greater detail
below.
Proposed Changes
The proposed rule change would
update each of the eight chapters of the
RWD Plan.13 A summary description of
the types of changes proposed to each
of the eight chapters of the RWD Plan
is provided below:
Chapter 1: Executive Summary
Chapter 1 of the RWD Plan provides
an executive summary and overview of
OCC’s proposed Plan. The proposed
changes to Chapter 1 of the Plan would
simply align the executive summary and
overview to the changes made
throughout subsequent chapters of the
Plan.
Chapter 3: Support Functions
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Chapter 2: OCC Overview
Chapter 2 of the RWD Plan provides
information that OCC believes would be
essential to relevant authorities for
purposes of recovery and orderly winddown planning, as well as to provide
readers of the Plan with necessary
context for the subsequent discussion
and analysis of OCC’s ‘‘Critical
Services’’ and ‘‘Critical Support
Functions’’ in Chapter 4 (discussed
below) and of OCC’s wind-down
process in Chapter 6 (discussed below).
The proposed rule change would update
several figures and factual discussions
to reflect changes since the Plan’s initial
approval by the Commission. The types
of changes being made to Chapter 2
would include: (i) Updated figures and
numbers about market share and
contract volume; (ii) updated lists of
securities options exchanges and futures
exchanges cleared by OCC; (iii) updated
organizational charts, headcount
numbers, discussions of OCC’s
management structure and descriptions
of management roles and
responsibilities; (iv) updated
descriptions of OCC’s Board’s
responsibilities and procedures, lists of
Board members, and descriptions of
OCC’s Board committees’ roles and
13 In addition to the changes summarized below,
OCC would also make administrative changes
throughout the Plan to update various OCC internal
policy and procedure names.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:59 Nov 17, 2020
responsibilities; 14 (v) revised
descriptions that would acknowledge
certain program changes that have
occurred since the initial 2018 approval
of the RWD Plan (e.g., changes to OCC’s
cross-margining arrangements, changes
in credit facilities and changes
concerning investment counterparties,
exchanges and vendors); (vi) updated
graphs of OCC’s Clearing Fund total
monthly deposits; and (vii) updated
discussions of OCC’s retirement plan
obligations. In addition to these updated
figures and factual discussions, the
proposed rule change would (i) revise
Chapter 2 to remove excerpts from
OCC’s most recent annual report (which
would be relocated to one of the
appendices); (ii) replace a lengthy
overview of OCC’s risk management
program with a more concise summary;
(iii) update a summary description of
OCC’s interconnections with external
vendors and a list of vendors that
provide OCC critical technology and
information reporting services; and (iv)
revise a fee management discussion to
align with changes resulting from the
implementation of the Capital
Management Policy.15
Jkt 253001
Chapter 3 of the RWD Plan identifies
each of OCC’s different internal support
functions and provides a brief
description of the activities performed
by each such support function. For
purposes of the RWD Plan, ‘‘internal
support functions’’ are the various
departments within OCC that are
necessary for OCC to provide its
services to Clearing Members and other
participants. Since the initial 2018
approval of the RWD Plan, OCC has
added two additional internal support
functions and expanded its Office of the
Chief Executive Officer, renamed the
‘‘Corporate’’ support function, to
include OCC’s executive officers and
administrative support staff.
Accordingly, the proposed rule change
would add two new internal support
functions (and descriptions thereof) and
replace the Office of the Chief Executive
Officer with the Corporate support
function, bringing the total number of
internal support functions from 14 to
16. Since the initial 2018 approval of
the RWD Plan, OCC also has modified
14 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84473
(Oct. 23, 2018), 83 FR 54385 (Oct. 29, 2018) (SR–
OCC–2018–012).
15 The changes to the fee management discussion
concern the potential for OCC’s Board to lower the
direct costs of participation if OCC’s shareholder
equity exceeds 110% of a predetermined ‘‘Target
Capital Requirement.’’ See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 86725 (Aug. 21, 2019), 84 FR 44944
(Aug. 27, 2019) (SR–OCC–2019–007).
PO 00000
Frm 00100
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
and updated its administrative
descriptions of the roles and
responsibilities of the 14 internal
support functions that were discussed
in the initial 2018 approval of the RWD
Plan. Accordingly, the proposed rule
change would update the descriptions
of all OCC’s internal support functions
so they align with the modified and
updated internal administrative
descriptions of such functions.
Chapter 4: Critical Services and Critical
Support Functions
Chapter 4 of the RWD Plan identifies
OCC’s ‘‘Critical Services’’ 16 and
‘‘Critical Support Functions.’’ 17 The
proposed rule change would group two
previously identified Critical Services
into a single Critical Service (i.e., the
changes would simply use a single term
to refer to two services that were
previously listed separately). The
proposed rule change also would update
dated factual references and make other
minor changes to OCC’s description of
its evaluations of Critical Services and
Critical Support Functions, notably to
recognize the consolidation of the two
previously identified Critical Services
into a single Critical Service and
recalibrate the evaluation of an OCC
service in considering whether it is a
Critical Service. The proposed rule
change also would change the mapping
of Critical Services to Support
Functions to recognize the ‘‘primary,’’
‘‘secondary,’’ or ‘‘non-critical’’ nature of
each Support Function, which better
aligns with OCC’s internal taxonomy.
Chapter 5: Recovery Plan
Chapter 5 of OCC’s proposed Plan
constitutes OCC’s recovery plan. The
proposed rule change would make
conforming edits to references to certain
former provisions within OCC’s ByLaws that have since been relocated to
OCC’s Rules.18 The proposed rule
change also would revise the inventory
and description of OCC’s available
‘‘Enhanced Risk Management Tools’’
and ‘‘Recovery Tools’’ to (i) replace
references to and discussions of
Replenishment Capital with references
to and descriptions of the replenishment
16 A ‘‘Critical Service,’’ as defined in the proposed
Plan, would be a service provided by OCC that, if
interrupted, would likely have a material negative
impact on participants or significant third parties,
give rise to contagion, or undermine the general
confidence of markets the FMU serves.
17 A ‘‘Critical Support Function,’’ as defined in
the proposed Plan, would be a function within OCC
that must continue in some capacity in order for
OCC to be able to continue providing its Critical
Services.
18 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83735
(Jul. 27, 2018), 83 FR 37855 (Aug. 2, 2018) (SR–
OCC–2010–008).
E:\FR\FM\18NON1.SGM
18NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 223 / Wednesday, November 18, 2020 / Notices
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
structure under the adopted Capital
Management Policy; (ii) replace
references to and discussions of the
discretionary use of OCC’s current and/
or retained earnings with references to
and discussions of the mandatory
contribution—immediately following
the use of margin, deposits in lieu of
margin and the Clearing Fund deposits
of the suspended Clearing Member—of
OCC’s current and retained earnings
greater than 110% of OCC’s annuallyestablished ‘‘Target Capital
Requirement,’’ as implemented by the
Capital Management Policy; (iii) update
the description of how OCC could
increase the minimum required cash
contribution to the Clearing Fund to
reflect enhancements to OCC’s liquidity
risk management framework that the
Commission approved in 2020; 19 (iv)
include a discussion of the mandatory
contribution of any unvested portions of
OCC’s Executive Deferred
Compensation Plan (‘‘EDCP’’), in
proportion to any charges against the
mutualized portion of OCC’s Clearing
Fund, as implemented by the Capital
Management Policy; and (v) update the
governance of the Recovery Tools to
include OCC’s Chief Executive Officer
and Chief Operating Officer in various
communications to OCC’s Executive
Chairman. The proposed rule change
also would revise the list of ‘‘Recovery
Trigger Events’’ in the recovery plan to
(i) delete one of the Recovery Trigger
Events that was derived from a defined
term in the Capital Plan, (ii) consolidate
two other Recovery Trigger Events into
a single, operational loss-related
recovery trigger, and (iii) add a
qualification onto an existing liquidity
loss-related recovery trigger. The
proposed rule change would also delete
unnecessary historical data on business
volumes from the hypothetical stress
scenarios in Chapter 5 that illustrate
how OCC could use its recovery tools.
Chapter 6: Wind-Down Plan
Chapter 6 of OCC’s RWD Plan
constitutes OCC’s orderly wind-down
plan. The proposed rule change would
revise the list of Wind-Down Plan
Trigger Events (‘‘WDP Triggers’’) to
consolidate two current WDP Triggers
into a single WDP Trigger related to
OCC’s financial resource requirements,
and consolidate two other current WDP
Triggers into a single WDP Trigger
related to operational disruption. The
proposed rule change would also update
discussions of the tools by which OCC
could have recapitalized in certain of its
19 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89014
(Jun. 4, 2020), 85 FR 35446 (Jun. 10, 2020) (SR–
OCC–2020–003).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:59 Nov 17, 2020
Jkt 253001
recovery and wind-down scenarios. As
revised, these discussions would
describe replenishment capital available
under the adopted Capital Management
Policy, deleting descriptions of
Replenishment Capital available under
the former Capital Plan. The proposed
rule change also would update certain
of the references to OCC’s internal
support functions and certain references
to headcount in Chapter 6.
Chapter 7: RWD Plan Governance
Chapter 7 of OCC’s RWD Plan section
details the governance of OCC’s RWD
Plan. The proposed rule change would
revise the lists of OCC staff involved in
the completion of the plan (largely to
give effect to the fact that the titles of
certain offices changed since the RWD
Plan’s proposal in 2017).
Chapter 8: Appendices
Chapter 8 of OCC’s RWD Plan is
comprised of several appendices. The
proposed rule change would update
several lists within the appendices to
reflect changes that have occurred since
the Plan’s initial approval by the
Commission. The types of changes being
made to Chapter 8 would include: (i)
Updated lists of OCC’s clearing
membership; (ii) updated lists of
participation on OCC’s Board; (iii)
updated lists of settlement banks and
letter of credit banks; (iv) updated lists
of vendors and service providers that
would be necessary to support a
recovery or wind-down of OCC; (v)
updates to the extreme hypothetical
scenarios designed by OCC that, if such
scenarios occurred, could cause OCC to
activate the RWD Plan; and (vi) updated
lists of the key agreements to be
maintained during recovery and winddown efforts.
Expected Effect on and Management of
Risk
OCC believes that the proposed
change would reduce the nature and
level of risk presented to OCC by
maintaining and updating plans
designed to enhance OCC’s ability to
address extreme stress events and
minimize the risks of contagion to
OCC’s Clearing Members, market
participants or to the wider financial
system, including other FMIs. More
specifically, the RWD Plan is designed
to enhance OCC’s ability to address
extreme stresses or crises by
establishing a framework that OCC
could use to navigate the use its
Enhanced Risk Management Tools and
Recovery Tools, with the aim of
maintaining OCC’s viability as a going
concern. In the event that OCC’s
recovery efforts are not successful, the
PO 00000
Frm 00101
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
73555
wind-down plan would seek to improve
the possibility that a resolution of OCC’s
operations can be conducted in an
orderly manner, thereby minimizing the
disruption to Clearing Members and
market participants and improving the
likelihood of minimizing the risk of
contagion to the broader financial
system. In this regard, OCC believes its
maintenance and updating of the RWD
Plan improves the possibility of
maintaining market and public
confidence during a time of
unprecedented stress.
Consistency With the Payment,
Clearing, and Settlement Supervision
Act
The stated purpose of the Clearing
Supervision Act is to mitigate systemic
risk in the financial system and promote
financial stability by, among other
things, promoting uniform risk
management standards for systemically
important financial market utilities and
strengthening the liquidity of
systemically important financial market
utilities.20 Section 805(a)(2) of the
Clearing Supervision Act 21 also
authorizes the Commission to prescribe
risk management standards for the
payment, clearing and settlement
activities of designated clearing entities,
like OCC, for which the Commission is
the supervisory agency. Section 805(b)
of the Clearing Supervision Act 22 states
that the objectives and principles for
risk management standards prescribed
under Section 805(a) shall be to:
• Promote robust risk management;
• promote safety and soundness;
• reduce systemic risks; and
• support the stability of the broader
financial system.
The Commission has adopted risk
management standards under Section
805(a)(2) of the Clearing Supervision
Act and the Act in furtherance of these
objectives and principles, including
those standards adopted pursuant to the
Commission rules cited below.23 For the
reasons set forth below, OCC believes
that the proposed change is consistent
with the risk management standards
promulgated under Section 805(a) of the
Clearing Supervision Act.24
20 12
U.S.C. 5461(b).
U.S.C. 5464(a)(2).
22 12 U.S.C. 5464(b).
23 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22. See Securities Exchange
Act Release Nos. 68080 (October 22, 2012), 77 FR
66220 (November 2, 2012) (S7–08–11) (‘‘Clearing
Agency Standards’’); 78961 (September 28, 2016),
81 FR 70786 (October 13, 2016) (S7–03–14)
(‘‘Standards for Covered Clearing Agencies’’). OCC
is a ‘‘covered clearing agency’’ as defined in Rule
17Ad–22(a)(5) and therefore is subject to section (e)
of Rule 17Ad–22.
24 12 U.S.C. 5464(b)(1) and (4).
21 12
E:\FR\FM\18NON1.SGM
18NON1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
73556
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 223 / Wednesday, November 18, 2020 / Notices
As stated above, the RWD Plan is
designed to enhance OCC’s ability to
address extreme stresses or crises by
establishing a framework that OCC
could use to navigate the use of its
Enhanced Risk Management Tools and
Recovery Tools, with the aim of
maintaining OCC’s viability as a going
concern. In the event that OCC’s
recovery efforts are not successful, the
RWD Plan would seek to improve the
possibility that a resolution of OCC’s
operations can be conducted in an
orderly manner, thereby minimizing the
disruption to Clearing Members and
market participants and improving the
likelihood of minimizing the risk of
contagion to the broader financial
system. Accordingly, OCC believes the
updates to the RWD Plan would
improve the possibility of OCC’s
effectively addressing a variety of
potential risks, thereby improving
OCC’s ability to ultimately maintain
market and public confidence during a
time of unprecedented stress. In this
regard, OCC believes the proposed
change would promote robust risk
management and safety and soundness
and thereby reduce systemic risks and
support the stability of the broader
financial system.
OCC also believes that the proposed
change is consistent with Exchange Act
Rule 17Ad–22(e)(3)(ii), which requires
each covered clearing agency to
establish, implement, maintain and
enforce written policies and procedures
reasonably designed to include plans for
the recovery and orderly wind-down of
the covered clearing agency necessitated
by credit losses, liquidity shortfalls,
losses from general business risk, or any
other losses.25 As stated above, the RWD
Plan would describe OCC’s plans to
recover from, or orderly resolve its
operations as a result of, severe stress
brought about by credit losses, liquidity
shortfalls, losses from general business
risk or other losses.26 The proposed
updates to the RWD Plan would
improve the accuracy of the inventory of
OCC’s Recovery Tools and improve
OCC’s evaluation of scenarios which
may potentially prevent OCC from
providing its Critical Services as a
going-concern, as well as OCC’s plans
for recovery or orderly wind-down.
Further, the proposed changes to the
Plan would update and improve the
information that a resolution authority
may reasonably anticipate as necessary
for purposes of recovery and orderly
wind-down planning.27 In this regard,
OCC believes the proposed change is
25 17
CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(3)(ii).
26 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(3)(ii).
27 See 81 FR at 70810.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:59 Nov 17, 2020
consistent with Rule 17Ad–
22(e)(3)(ii).28
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Advance
Notice and Timing for Commission
Action
The proposed change may be
implemented if the Commission does
not object to the proposed change
within 60 days of the later of (i) the date
the proposed change was filed with the
Commission or (ii) the date any
additional information requested by the
Commission is received. OCC shall not
implement the proposed change if the
Commission has any objection to the
proposed change.
The Commission may extend the
period for review by an additional 60
days if the proposed change raises novel
or complex issues, subject to the
Commission providing the clearing
agency with prompt written notice of
the extension. A proposed change may
be implemented in less than 60 days
from the date the advance notice is
filed, or the date further information
requested by the Commission is
received, if the Commission notifies the
clearing agency in writing that it does
not object to the proposed change and
authorizes the clearing agency to
implement the proposed change on an
earlier date, subject to any conditions
imposed by the Commission.
OCC shall post notice on its website
of proposed changes that are
implemented. The proposal shall not
take effect until all regulatory actions
required with respect to the proposal are
completed.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the advance notice is
consistent with the Clearing
Supervision 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–
OCC–2020–806 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–OCC–2020–806. This file
28 17
Jkt 253001
PO 00000
CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(3)(ii).
Frm 00102
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 advance notice that
are filed with the Commission, and all
written communications relating to the
advance notice 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
office of the self-regulatory organization.
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–OCC–2020–806 and should
be submitted on or before December 3,
2020.
By the Commission.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–25441 Filed 11–17–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–90408; File No. SR–
NYSEAMER–2020–79]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
American, LLC; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
Rule Change Amending the Fees for
NYSE American BBO and NYSE
American Trades by Modifying the
Application of the Access Fee and
Amending the Fees for NYSE American
Trades by Adopting a Waiver
Applicable to the Redistribution Fee
November 12, 2020.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
E:\FR\FM\18NON1.SGM
18NON1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73553-73556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25441]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-90416; File No. SR-OCC-2020-806]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; the Options Clearing Corporation;
Notice of Filing of Advance Notice Related to Proposed Changes To
Update the Options Clearing Corporation's Recovery and Orderly Wind-
Down Plan
November 13, 2020.
Pursuant to Section 806(e)(1) of Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, entitled Payment, Clearing
and Settlement Supervision Act of 2010 (``Clearing Supervision Act'')
\1\ and Rule 19b-4(n)(1)(i) \2\ under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (``Act'' or ``Exchange Act''),\3\ notice is hereby given that on
October 20, 2020, the Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC'') filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') an advance
notice as described in Items I, II and III below, which Items have been
prepared by OCC. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the advance notice from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 12 U.S.C. 5465(e)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(n)(1)(i).
\3\ 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Advance
Notice
This advance notice is submitted in connection with a proposed
change to update OCC's Recovery and Orderly Wind-Down Plan (``RWD
Plan'' or ``Plan''), adopted pursuant to the requirement in Rule 17Ad-
22(e)(3)(ii),\4\ to reflect: (i) Changes to OCC's capital structure
resulting from the disapproval of OCC's previously approved ``Capital
Plan'' \5\ and the subsequent approval of OCC's ``Capital Management
Policy,'' \6\ and (ii) changes made to each chapter of the Plan during
OCC's annual internal review and update of the Plan, as required by
OCC's internal governance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22(e)(3)(ii).
\5\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85121 (Feb. 13, 2019),
84 FR 5157 (Feb. 20, 2019) (SR-OCC-2015-02).
\6\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86725 (Aug. 21, 2019),
84 FR 44952 (Aug. 27, 2019) (SR-OCC-2019-007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The RWD Plan is included as confidential Exhibit 5 to SR-OCC-2020-
806. Material proposed to be added is marked by underlining and
material proposed to be deleted is marked by strikethrough text.\7\ The
proposed changes are described in detail in Item II below. All terms
with initial capitalization not defined herein have the same meaning as
set forth in OCC's By-Laws and Rules.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ OCC has also filed a proposed rule change with the
Commission in connection with this proposal. See SR-OCC-2020-013.
\8\ OCC's By-Laws and Rules can be found on OCC's public
website: https://www.theocc.com/Company-Information/Documents-and-Archives/By-Laws-and-Rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis
for, the Advance Notice
In its filing with the Commission, OCC included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the advance notice and
discussed any comments it received on the advance notice. The text of
these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV
below. OCC has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A and B below,
of the most significant aspects of these statements.
(A) Clearing Agency's Statement on Comments on the Advance Notice
Received From Members, Participants or Others
Written comments were not and are not intended to be solicited with
respect to the advance notice and none have been received. OCC will
notify the Commission of any written comments received by OCC.
(B) Advance Notices Filed Pursuant to Section 806(e) of the Payment,
Clearing, and Settlement Supervision Act
Description of the Proposed Change
Background
On August 23, 2018, the Commission approved OCC's proposed rule
change to formalize and update OCC's RWD Plan, consistent with the
requirements of Rule 17Ad-22(e)(3)(ii).\9\ As approved, the RWD Plan
incorporated key pieces of OCC's previously approved Capital Plan,
including but not limited to the Capital Plan's provision for
``Replenishment Capital.'' \10\ In OCC's RWD Plan, Replenishment
Capital was one of the tools by which OCC could have recapitalized in
certain of its recovery and wind-down scenarios.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83918 (Aug. 23, 2018),
83 FR 44091 (Aug. 29, 2018) (SR-OCC-2017-021).
\10\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 74452 (Mar. 6, 2015),
80 FR 13058 (Mar. 12, 2015) (SR-OCC-2015-02). The Capital Plan was a
previously approved plan for raising additional capital under which
the securities options exchanges that own equity in OCC committed to
contributing additional capital to OCC under certain conditions and
provided for the provision of further Replenishment Capital in
certain circumstances.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 13, 2019, the Commission disapproved OCC's Capital
Plan.\11\ The disapproval of the Capital Plan left OCC's RWD Plan with
several invalid references to the Capital Plan or to certain of its
component parts, including references to Replenishment Capital as one
of OCC's identified tools for recovery and wind-down and references to
a trigger event within the Capital Plan as one of OCC's recovery
triggers. As a result of the disapproval of the Capital Plan, OCC
subsequently proposed the ``Capital Management Policy,'' which among
other things establishes a new mechanism for funding OCC's
replenishment capital and changes OCC's ``default waterfall'' (i.e.,
the resources available to OCC in the event of a Clearing Member's
suspension).\12\ These changes to OCC's replenishment capital and
default waterfall necessitated changes to existing passages concerning
the same in the RWD Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ See supra note 5.
\12\ See supra note 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, OCC has made changes to its RWD Plan as a result of
its annual review and update process. As adopted, the RWD Plan itself
recognizes OCC's internal governance requirement to review and update
the Plan at least every twelve months. Accordingly, during the first
several months of 2019
[[Page 73554]]
and 2020, an internal, cross-disciplinary working group within OCC
conducted a review and recommended numerous changes to the RWD Plan,
which were approved by OCC's management, the Risk Committee of OCC's
Board of Directors (``Board'') and OCC's Board. The changes resulting
from the adoption of the Capital Management Policy and the changes from
OCC's annual review process are discussed in greater detail below.
Proposed Changes
The proposed rule change would update each of the eight chapters of
the RWD Plan.\13\ A summary description of the types of changes
proposed to each of the eight chapters of the RWD Plan is provided
below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ In addition to the changes summarized below, OCC would also
make administrative changes throughout the Plan to update various
OCC internal policy and procedure names.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: Executive Summary
Chapter 1 of the RWD Plan provides an executive summary and
overview of OCC's proposed Plan. The proposed changes to Chapter 1 of
the Plan would simply align the executive summary and overview to the
changes made throughout subsequent chapters of the Plan.
Chapter 2: OCC Overview
Chapter 2 of the RWD Plan provides information that OCC believes
would be essential to relevant authorities for purposes of recovery and
orderly wind-down planning, as well as to provide readers of the Plan
with necessary context for the subsequent discussion and analysis of
OCC's ``Critical Services'' and ``Critical Support Functions'' in
Chapter 4 (discussed below) and of OCC's wind-down process in Chapter 6
(discussed below). The proposed rule change would update several
figures and factual discussions to reflect changes since the Plan's
initial approval by the Commission. The types of changes being made to
Chapter 2 would include: (i) Updated figures and numbers about market
share and contract volume; (ii) updated lists of securities options
exchanges and futures exchanges cleared by OCC; (iii) updated
organizational charts, headcount numbers, discussions of OCC's
management structure and descriptions of management roles and
responsibilities; (iv) updated descriptions of OCC's Board's
responsibilities and procedures, lists of Board members, and
descriptions of OCC's Board committees' roles and responsibilities;
\14\ (v) revised descriptions that would acknowledge certain program
changes that have occurred since the initial 2018 approval of the RWD
Plan (e.g., changes to OCC's cross-margining arrangements, changes in
credit facilities and changes concerning investment counterparties,
exchanges and vendors); (vi) updated graphs of OCC's Clearing Fund
total monthly deposits; and (vii) updated discussions of OCC's
retirement plan obligations. In addition to these updated figures and
factual discussions, the proposed rule change would (i) revise Chapter
2 to remove excerpts from OCC's most recent annual report (which would
be relocated to one of the appendices); (ii) replace a lengthy overview
of OCC's risk management program with a more concise summary; (iii)
update a summary description of OCC's interconnections with external
vendors and a list of vendors that provide OCC critical technology and
information reporting services; and (iv) revise a fee management
discussion to align with changes resulting from the implementation of
the Capital Management Policy.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84473 (Oct. 23, 2018),
83 FR 54385 (Oct. 29, 2018) (SR-OCC-2018-012).
\15\ The changes to the fee management discussion concern the
potential for OCC's Board to lower the direct costs of participation
if OCC's shareholder equity exceeds 110% of a predetermined ``Target
Capital Requirement.'' See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86725
(Aug. 21, 2019), 84 FR 44944 (Aug. 27, 2019) (SR-OCC-2019-007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3: Support Functions
Chapter 3 of the RWD Plan identifies each of OCC's different
internal support functions and provides a brief description of the
activities performed by each such support function. For purposes of the
RWD Plan, ``internal support functions'' are the various departments
within OCC that are necessary for OCC to provide its services to
Clearing Members and other participants. Since the initial 2018
approval of the RWD Plan, OCC has added two additional internal support
functions and expanded its Office of the Chief Executive Officer,
renamed the ``Corporate'' support function, to include OCC's executive
officers and administrative support staff. Accordingly, the proposed
rule change would add two new internal support functions (and
descriptions thereof) and replace the Office of the Chief Executive
Officer with the Corporate support function, bringing the total number
of internal support functions from 14 to 16. Since the initial 2018
approval of the RWD Plan, OCC also has modified and updated its
administrative descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of the 14
internal support functions that were discussed in the initial 2018
approval of the RWD Plan. Accordingly, the proposed rule change would
update the descriptions of all OCC's internal support functions so they
align with the modified and updated internal administrative
descriptions of such functions.
Chapter 4: Critical Services and Critical Support Functions
Chapter 4 of the RWD Plan identifies OCC's ``Critical Services''
\16\ and ``Critical Support Functions.'' \17\ The proposed rule change
would group two previously identified Critical Services into a single
Critical Service (i.e., the changes would simply use a single term to
refer to two services that were previously listed separately). The
proposed rule change also would update dated factual references and
make other minor changes to OCC's description of its evaluations of
Critical Services and Critical Support Functions, notably to recognize
the consolidation of the two previously identified Critical Services
into a single Critical Service and recalibrate the evaluation of an OCC
service in considering whether it is a Critical Service. The proposed
rule change also would change the mapping of Critical Services to
Support Functions to recognize the ``primary,'' ``secondary,'' or
``non-critical'' nature of each Support Function, which better aligns
with OCC's internal taxonomy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ A ``Critical Service,'' as defined in the proposed Plan,
would be a service provided by OCC that, if interrupted, would
likely have a material negative impact on participants or
significant third parties, give rise to contagion, or undermine the
general confidence of markets the FMU serves.
\17\ A ``Critical Support Function,'' as defined in the proposed
Plan, would be a function within OCC that must continue in some
capacity in order for OCC to be able to continue providing its
Critical Services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 5: Recovery Plan
Chapter 5 of OCC's proposed Plan constitutes OCC's recovery plan.
The proposed rule change would make conforming edits to references to
certain former provisions within OCC's By-Laws that have since been
relocated to OCC's Rules.\18\ The proposed rule change also would
revise the inventory and description of OCC's available ``Enhanced Risk
Management Tools'' and ``Recovery Tools'' to (i) replace references to
and discussions of Replenishment Capital with references to and
descriptions of the replenishment
[[Page 73555]]
structure under the adopted Capital Management Policy; (ii) replace
references to and discussions of the discretionary use of OCC's current
and/or retained earnings with references to and discussions of the
mandatory contribution--immediately following the use of margin,
deposits in lieu of margin and the Clearing Fund deposits of the
suspended Clearing Member--of OCC's current and retained earnings
greater than 110% of OCC's annually-established ``Target Capital
Requirement,'' as implemented by the Capital Management Policy; (iii)
update the description of how OCC could increase the minimum required
cash contribution to the Clearing Fund to reflect enhancements to OCC's
liquidity risk management framework that the Commission approved in
2020; \19\ (iv) include a discussion of the mandatory contribution of
any unvested portions of OCC's Executive Deferred Compensation Plan
(``EDCP''), in proportion to any charges against the mutualized portion
of OCC's Clearing Fund, as implemented by the Capital Management
Policy; and (v) update the governance of the Recovery Tools to include
OCC's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer in various
communications to OCC's Executive Chairman. The proposed rule change
also would revise the list of ``Recovery Trigger Events'' in the
recovery plan to (i) delete one of the Recovery Trigger Events that was
derived from a defined term in the Capital Plan, (ii) consolidate two
other Recovery Trigger Events into a single, operational loss-related
recovery trigger, and (iii) add a qualification onto an existing
liquidity loss-related recovery trigger. The proposed rule change would
also delete unnecessary historical data on business volumes from the
hypothetical stress scenarios in Chapter 5 that illustrate how OCC
could use its recovery tools.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83735 (Jul. 27,
2018), 83 FR 37855 (Aug. 2, 2018) (SR-OCC-2010-008).
\19\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89014 (Jun. 4,
2020), 85 FR 35446 (Jun. 10, 2020) (SR-OCC-2020-003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 6: Wind-Down Plan
Chapter 6 of OCC's RWD Plan constitutes OCC's orderly wind-down
plan. The proposed rule change would revise the list of Wind-Down Plan
Trigger Events (``WDP Triggers'') to consolidate two current WDP
Triggers into a single WDP Trigger related to OCC's financial resource
requirements, and consolidate two other current WDP Triggers into a
single WDP Trigger related to operational disruption. The proposed rule
change would also update discussions of the tools by which OCC could
have recapitalized in certain of its recovery and wind-down scenarios.
As revised, these discussions would describe replenishment capital
available under the adopted Capital Management Policy, deleting
descriptions of Replenishment Capital available under the former
Capital Plan. The proposed rule change also would update certain of the
references to OCC's internal support functions and certain references
to headcount in Chapter 6.
Chapter 7: RWD Plan Governance
Chapter 7 of OCC's RWD Plan section details the governance of OCC's
RWD Plan. The proposed rule change would revise the lists of OCC staff
involved in the completion of the plan (largely to give effect to the
fact that the titles of certain offices changed since the RWD Plan's
proposal in 2017).
Chapter 8: Appendices
Chapter 8 of OCC's RWD Plan is comprised of several appendices. The
proposed rule change would update several lists within the appendices
to reflect changes that have occurred since the Plan's initial approval
by the Commission. The types of changes being made to Chapter 8 would
include: (i) Updated lists of OCC's clearing membership; (ii) updated
lists of participation on OCC's Board; (iii) updated lists of
settlement banks and letter of credit banks; (iv) updated lists of
vendors and service providers that would be necessary to support a
recovery or wind-down of OCC; (v) updates to the extreme hypothetical
scenarios designed by OCC that, if such scenarios occurred, could cause
OCC to activate the RWD Plan; and (vi) updated lists of the key
agreements to be maintained during recovery and wind-down efforts.
Expected Effect on and Management of Risk
OCC believes that the proposed change would reduce the nature and
level of risk presented to OCC by maintaining and updating plans
designed to enhance OCC's ability to address extreme stress events and
minimize the risks of contagion to OCC's Clearing Members, market
participants or to the wider financial system, including other FMIs.
More specifically, the RWD Plan is designed to enhance OCC's ability to
address extreme stresses or crises by establishing a framework that OCC
could use to navigate the use its Enhanced Risk Management Tools and
Recovery Tools, with the aim of maintaining OCC's viability as a going
concern. In the event that OCC's recovery efforts are not successful,
the wind-down plan would seek to improve the possibility that a
resolution of OCC's operations can be conducted in an orderly manner,
thereby minimizing the disruption to Clearing Members and market
participants and improving the likelihood of minimizing the risk of
contagion to the broader financial system. In this regard, OCC believes
its maintenance and updating of the RWD Plan improves the possibility
of maintaining market and public confidence during a time of
unprecedented stress.
Consistency With the Payment, Clearing, and Settlement Supervision Act
The stated purpose of the Clearing Supervision Act is to mitigate
systemic risk in the financial system and promote financial stability
by, among other things, promoting uniform risk management standards for
systemically important financial market utilities and strengthening the
liquidity of systemically important financial market utilities.\20\
Section 805(a)(2) of the Clearing Supervision Act \21\ also authorizes
the Commission to prescribe risk management standards for the payment,
clearing and settlement activities of designated clearing entities,
like OCC, for which the Commission is the supervisory agency. Section
805(b) of the Clearing Supervision Act \22\ states that the objectives
and principles for risk management standards prescribed under Section
805(a) shall be to:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ 12 U.S.C. 5461(b).
\21\ 12 U.S.C. 5464(a)(2).
\22\ 12 U.S.C. 5464(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Promote robust risk management;
promote safety and soundness;
reduce systemic risks; and
support the stability of the broader financial system.
The Commission has adopted risk management standards under Section
805(a)(2) of the Clearing Supervision Act and the Act in furtherance of
these objectives and principles, including those standards adopted
pursuant to the Commission rules cited below.\23\ For the reasons set
forth below, OCC believes that the proposed change is consistent with
the risk management standards promulgated under Section 805(a) of the
Clearing Supervision Act.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22. See Securities Exchange Act Release
Nos. 68080 (October 22, 2012), 77 FR 66220 (November 2, 2012) (S7-
08-11) (``Clearing Agency Standards''); 78961 (September 28, 2016),
81 FR 70786 (October 13, 2016) (S7-03-14) (``Standards for Covered
Clearing Agencies''). OCC is a ``covered clearing agency'' as
defined in Rule 17Ad-22(a)(5) and therefore is subject to section
(e) of Rule 17Ad-22.
\24\ 12 U.S.C. 5464(b)(1) and (4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 73556]]
As stated above, the RWD Plan is designed to enhance OCC's ability
to address extreme stresses or crises by establishing a framework that
OCC could use to navigate the use of its Enhanced Risk Management Tools
and Recovery Tools, with the aim of maintaining OCC's viability as a
going concern. In the event that OCC's recovery efforts are not
successful, the RWD Plan would seek to improve the possibility that a
resolution of OCC's operations can be conducted in an orderly manner,
thereby minimizing the disruption to Clearing Members and market
participants and improving the likelihood of minimizing the risk of
contagion to the broader financial system. Accordingly, OCC believes
the updates to the RWD Plan would improve the possibility of OCC's
effectively addressing a variety of potential risks, thereby improving
OCC's ability to ultimately maintain market and public confidence
during a time of unprecedented stress. In this regard, OCC believes the
proposed change would promote robust risk management and safety and
soundness and thereby reduce systemic risks and support the stability
of the broader financial system.
OCC also believes that the proposed change is consistent with
Exchange Act Rule 17Ad-22(e)(3)(ii), which requires each covered
clearing agency to establish, implement, maintain and enforce written
policies and procedures reasonably designed to include plans for the
recovery and orderly wind-down of the covered clearing agency
necessitated by credit losses, liquidity shortfalls, losses from
general business risk, or any other losses.\25\ As stated above, the
RWD Plan would describe OCC's plans to recover from, or orderly resolve
its operations as a result of, severe stress brought about by credit
losses, liquidity shortfalls, losses from general business risk or
other losses.\26\ The proposed updates to the RWD Plan would improve
the accuracy of the inventory of OCC's Recovery Tools and improve OCC's
evaluation of scenarios which may potentially prevent OCC from
providing its Critical Services as a going-concern, as well as OCC's
plans for recovery or orderly wind-down. Further, the proposed changes
to the Plan would update and improve the information that a resolution
authority may reasonably anticipate as necessary for purposes of
recovery and orderly wind-down planning.\27\ In this regard, OCC
believes the proposed change is consistent with Rule 17Ad-
22(e)(3)(ii).\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22(e)(3)(ii).
\26\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22(e)(3)(ii).
\27\ See 81 FR at 70810.
\28\ 17 CFR 240.17Ad-22(e)(3)(ii).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Advance Notice and Timing for
Commission Action
The proposed change may be implemented if the Commission does not
object to the proposed change within 60 days of the later of (i) the
date the proposed change was filed with the Commission or (ii) the date
any additional information requested by the Commission is received. OCC
shall not implement the proposed change if the Commission has any
objection to the proposed change.
The Commission may extend the period for review by an additional 60
days if the proposed change raises novel or complex issues, subject to
the Commission providing the clearing agency with prompt written notice
of the extension. A proposed change may be implemented in less than 60
days from the date the advance notice is filed, or the date further
information requested by the Commission is received, if the Commission
notifies the clearing agency in writing that it does not object to the
proposed change and authorizes the clearing agency to implement the
proposed change on an earlier date, subject to any conditions imposed
by the Commission.
OCC shall post notice on its website of proposed changes that are
implemented. The proposal shall not take effect until all regulatory
actions required with respect to the proposal are completed.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the advance
notice is consistent with the Clearing Supervision 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-OCC-2020-806 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-OCC-2020-806. 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 advance notice that are filed with the
Commission, and all written communications relating to the advance
notice 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 office of the self-regulatory
organization.
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-OCC-2020-806 and
should be submitted on or before December 3, 2020.
By the Commission.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-25441 Filed 11-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P