Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 1 and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, To Amend Options 4, Section 5, To Limit Short Term Options Series Intervals Between Strikes That Are Available for Quoting and Trading on BX, 10375-10378 [2021-03342]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Notices
(4) Files the annual report
electronically with the Commission
using an appropriate process.
By the Commission.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–03353 Filed 2–18–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–91125; File No. SR–BX–
2020–032]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq
BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing of
Amendment No. 1 and Order Granting
Accelerated Approval of Proposed
Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 1, To Amend Options
4, Section 5, To Limit Short Term
Options Series Intervals Between
Strikes That Are Available for Quoting
and Trading on BX
February 12, 2021.
I. Introduction
On November 6, 2020, Nasdaq BX,
Inc. (‘‘BX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section
19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4
thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to
amend Options 4, Section 5, ‘‘Series of
Options Contracts Open for Trading’’ to
limit Short Term Options Series
intervals between strikes which are
available for quoting and trading on BX.
The proposed rule change was
published for comment in the Federal
Register on November 16, 2020.3 On
December 23, 2020, pursuant to Section
19(b)(2) of the Act,4 the Commission
extended the time period within which
to approve the proposed rule change,
disapprove the proposed rule change, or
institute proceedings to determine
whether to approve or disapprove the
proposed rule change, to February 14,
2021.5 On February 10, 2021, the
Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the
proposed rule change, which replaced
and superseded the proposed rule
change in its entirety.6 The Commission
is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change,
as modified by Amendment No. 1, from
interested persons, and is approving the
proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 1, on an accelerated
basis.
II. Description of the Proposed Rule
Change
Currently, under the Short Term
Options Series (‘‘STOS’’) program (also
referred to as the ‘‘weekly series’’ or
‘‘weeklies’’), BX may open for trading
on a Thursday or Friday (‘‘Short Term
Option Opening Date’’) a series of
options that expires on each of the next
five Fridays that are business days and
are not Fridays in which monthly
options series or Quarterly Options
series expire (‘‘Short Term Option
Expiration Dates’’).7 Weeklies currently
may have strike price intervals of $0.50,
$1, or $2.50.8
In the proposed rule change, as
modified by Amendment No. 1, the
Exchange proposes to amend its STOS
Program to increase, and thereby limit,
the intervals between strikes in multiply
listed equity options (excluding options
on Exchange Traded Funds (‘‘ETFs’’)
and Exchange Traded Notes (‘‘ETNs’’))
under the STOS program for those
weeklies that have an expiration date
more than twenty-one days from the
listing date.9 Accordingly, the proposal
seeks to reduce the number of strikes in
the weeklies furthest from expiration.
Specifically, the new applicable strike
intervals will be as follows: 10
Underlying share price
Tier
Customer-range options average daily
volume
1 ........................
2 ........................
3 ........................
greater than 5,000 ................................
1,000 to 5,000 .......................................
0 to 1,000 ..............................................
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90384
(November 9, 2020), 85 FR 73113 (November 16,
2020) (‘‘Notice’’). Comments on the proposed rule
change can be found at https://www.sec.gov/
comments/sr-bx-2020-032/srbx2020032.htm.
4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90796
(December 23, 2020), 85 FR 86590 (December 30,
2020).
6 In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange: (1) Stated
that the proposed changes in Supplementary
Material .07 of Options 4, Section 5 supersede
Supplementary Material .03(d) and that the
Exchange will not be able to utilize the rule text
within Supplementary Material .03(d) to permit
additional series to be opened for trading on the
Exchange that have an expiration date more than
twenty-one days from the listing date despite the
noted circumstances when such additional series
could otherwise be added; (2) clarified how a Short
Term Option Opening Date is calculated when the
Exchange is not open for business on the applicable
Thursday or Friday; (3) provided that that Short
Term Options Series that are newly eligible for
listing pursuant to Options 4, Section 3(a) will not
be subject to proposed Supplementary Material .07
until after the end of the first full calendar quarter
following the date the option class was first listed
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Less than
$25
$25 to less
than $75
$0.50
1.00
2.50
$1.00
1.00
5.00
for trading on any options market; (4) discussed
additional data underlying its proposal; (5)
proposed to make publically available a report on
a quarterly basis that indicates, for each Short Term
Options Series eligible to be listed under proposed
Supplementary Material .07 of Options 4, Section
5, the applicable tiering, which includes the closing
price of the underlying, and the average daily
Customer volume of the option; and (6) changed its
implementation timeframe for the proposed rule
change from prior to March 31, 2021 to prior to June
30, 2021. When the Exchange filed Amendment No.
1, it also submitted it as a comment to the filing
so that the text of Amendment No. 1 promptly
became available at https://www.sec.gov/comments/
sr-bx-2020-032/srbx2020032-8359799-229182.pdf.
7 See Supplementary Material .03 of Options 4,
Section 5. There are limits on the number of series
that can participate in STOS (i.e., 30 initial series
and up to 50 currently listed classes). See
Supplementary Material .03 of Options 4, Section
5(c). In addition to the weeklies, the Exchange may
list series of options for trading with monthly
expirations (that expire on the third Friday of the
month) or quarterly expirations. See Options 4,
Section 5(g) and Supplementary Material .04 of
Options 4, Section 5, respectively. Exchange rules
set forth the intervals between strike prices of series
of options on individual stocks, which generally are
$2.50, $5, and $10. In addition to those intervals,
the Exchange may list certain series of options in
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$75 to less
than $150
$1.00
1.00
5.00
$150 to less
than $500
$5.00
5.00
5.00
$500 or
greater
$5.00
10.00
10.00
finer increments, including, e.g., pursuant to the $1
Strike Price Interval Program (Supplementary
Material .01 of Options 4, Section 5) and the $0.50
Strike Program (Supplementary Material .05 of
Options 4, Section 5).
8 Specifically, (i) $0.50 or greater where the strike
price is less than $100, and $1 or greater where the
strike price is between $100 and $150 for all option
classes that participate in the Short Term Options
Series Program; (ii) $0.50 for option classes that
trade in one dollar increments and are in the Short
Term Options Series Program; or (iii) $2.50 or
greater where the strike price is above $150. See
Amendment No. 1, supra note 6, at 34.
9 The proposal does not apply to index options.
10 The table supersedes Supplementary Material
.03(d), which currently permits additional series to
be opened for trading on the Exchange when the
Exchange deems it necessary to maintain an orderly
market, to meet customer demand, or when the
market price of the underlying security moves
substantially from the exercise price or prices of the
series already opened. As a result, the Exchange
will not be able to utilize the rule text within
Supplementary Material .03(d) to permit additional
series to be opened for trading on BX that have an
expiration date more than twenty-one days from the
listing date despite the noted circumstances when
such additional series could otherwise be added.
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As shown in the table, the proposal
sets the strike increment for those
weekly series with an expiration date of
more than twenty-one days from the
listing date (e.g., weeks 4 and 5) through
a matrix of 15 possible choices
representing 5 different strike intervals
(i.e., $0.50, $1, $2.50, $5, or $10). The
Exchange will determine the applicable
strike interval through a combination of
two factors: (1) The Customer-cleared
average daily volume (‘‘ADV’’) tier for
the option over the applicable quarter 11
and (2) the closing share price of the
underlying stock on its primary market
on the last day of the calendar quarter.
The Exchange states that STOS
comprise a significant portion of listed
options, as the weekly strikes increased
at a 8.9% compound annual growth rate
(‘‘CAGR’’) from 2015 to 2020, compared
to a 4.3% CAGR for standard
expirations using 3rd Friday
expirations. Weeklies are available on
16% of underlying products, and
weeklies with an expiration date greater
than twenty-one days from the listing
date account for 7.5% of the total
number of strikes in the options market,
equaling approximately 81,000 strikes.12
In its filing, the Exchange explains
that it chose to use OCC Customercleared volume because the Exchange
believes it represents a measure of
customer demand, including for the
weekly series.13 Under the proposal,
higher customer demand results in a tier
that corresponds to a more granular
strike interval (e.g., $0.50 instead of
$2.50).
The Exchange further explains that its
proposal seeks to reduce the number of
strikes in the furthest weekly options
series, which the Exchange believes
typically have wider markets and lower
market quality.14 The Exchange’s
proposal imposes more distanced strike
intervals where the underlying stock has
higher priced shares and where there is
less customer volume as measured by
the ADV tiers. Conversely, the proposal
preserves finer strike intervals for
options that have higher Customer ADV
and lower priced underlying stocks.
11 The Customer-cleared ADV is the total number
of options contracts traded in the Customer range
in a given security for the applicable calendar
quarter, divided by the number of trading days in
the applicable calendar quarter. Beginning on the
second trading day of each calendar quarter, the
ADV will be calculated by using data from the prior
calendar quarter based on volume cleared in the
Customer range as reported by the Options Clearing
Corporation (‘‘OCC’’).
12 See Amendment No. 1, supra note 6, at 42.
13 See id. at 22.
14 See id. at 40–41, for the Exchange’s data on
average spreads in weekly options during the
month of August 2020.
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BX also proposes to make publically
and freely available a report on a
quarterly basis that indicates, for each
weekly series eligible to be listed under
proposed Supplementary Material .07 of
Options 4, Section 5, the applicable
strike increment, the applicable closing
price of the underlying stock sourced
from the closing prices for Tape A, B
and C securities published by the UTP
and CTA/CQ Plans, and the applicable
Customer ADV of the option sourced
from OCC. BX will post the report by
the close of business on the first trading
day of the quarter.
The Exchange intends that its
proposal will allow market makers to
deploy capital more efficiently, while
improving displayed market quality, by
tailoring the granularity of strikes to
correspond to the anticipated future
customer demand for the option and the
price of the underlying stock, thus
reducing the number of listed weekly
options in the later weeks of the STOS
program.15 The Exchange states that its
proposal is responsive to concerns from
industry members, including market
makers, regarding the proliferation of
strike prices.16 The Exchange expects
that its proposal will be the first step in
a broader initiative to revisit the
patchwork of strike listing rules.17
III. Discussion and Commission
Findings
After careful review of the proposed
rule change, as modified by Amendment
No. 1, and the comment letters received
on the proposal, the Commission finds
that the proposed rule change, as
modified by Amendment No. 1, is
consistent with the requirements of the
Act and the rules and regulations
thereunder applicable to national
securities exchanges.18 In particular, the
Commission finds that the proposed
rule change, as modified by Amendment
No. 1, is consistent with Section 6(b)(5)
of the Act,19 which requires that the
rules of an exchange be designed,
among other things, to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and
practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, to foster cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged
in facilitating transactions in securities,
and to remove impediments to and
perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market
15 See
id. at 44.
id. at 45.
17 See id. at 45–46.
18 In approving this proposed rule change, the
Commission has considered the proposed rule’s
impact on efficiency, competition, and capital
formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
19 17 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
16 See
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system, and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest.
The Commission received several
comments expressing support for the
proposed rule change.20 Another
commenter expressed general support
for the goals of the proposal but
suggested ideas to simplify and clarify
the proposal.21 In particular, that
commenter recommends that the
proposal be ‘‘simplified in its
application’’ because it believes the
ADV and underlying share price
components could be ‘‘unduly
burdensome from an exchange
operational perspective.’’ 22 The
commenter states that the proposal
could ‘‘create significant operational
overhead with respect to implementing
and maintaining this proposed strike
listing regime’’ but would only ‘‘result
in a limited strike reduction’’.23 Further,
the commenter states that the proposal’s
‘‘complexity may also cause confusion
among participants regarding
permissible strikes.’’ 24 As an
alternative, the commenter suggests
‘‘use of a single ADV component for
classes to qualify for the STOS
program’’ such as 2,500 ADV.25
In response, the Exchange states that
its proposal ‘‘was not intended to
amend the current STOS program’’ but
rather was to ‘‘curtail certain strike
intervals within STOS to avoid
operational burdens to listing
exchanges.’’ 26 The Exchange believes
that the commenter’s suggested
alternative ‘‘may have a detrimental
impact on of meeting customer demand
in terms of the availability of STOS
which are listed today.’’ 27 The
Commission believes the Exchange has
20 See Letters to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary,
Commission, from Chris Halverson, Chairman of
the Board, Security Traders Association and James
Toes, President & CEO, Security Traders
Association, dated December 9, 2020; from Joanna
Mallers, Secretary, FIA Principal Traders Group,
dated December 8, 2020; from Venu Palaparthi,
Managing Director, Dash Financial Technologies
LLC, dated December 7, 2020; from Andrew
Stevens, General Counsel, IMC Chicago, LLC, dated
December 7, 2020; from Joseph P. Kamnik, Chief
Regulatory Counsel, Options Clearing Corporation,
dated December 4, 2020; and from Ellen Greene,
Managing Director, Equities & Options Market
Structure, Securities Industry and Financial
Markets Association, dated December 4, 2020.
21 See Letter to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary,
Commission, from Laura G. Dickman Vice
President, Associate General Counsel, Cboe
Exchange, Inc., dated February 1, 2021 (‘‘Cboe
Letter’’).
22 Cboe Letter, supra note 21 at 2.
23 Id.
24 Id.
25 Id.
26 See Letter to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary,
Commission, from Kevin Kennedy, Senior Vice
President, North American Markets, Nasdaq, Inc.,
dated February 10, 2021 (‘‘BX Response’’), at 1.
27 Id.
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addressed the commenter’s concern.
The Exchange’s proposal, though
modest in scope, is an attempt to
rationalize strike listing rules in the
furthest-out weekly series, which may
serve as a starting point to a broader
initiative to revisit, harmonize, and
update the panoply of strike listing rules
more broadly. The Exchange’s proposal
is but one of many possible alternative
approaches that could address the same
or similar goals. Nevertheless, the
Exchange’s proposal reflects its
preferred approach, which the
Commission finds is consistent with the
Act.
The commenter also suggested certain
aspects of the proposal that could be
further clarified, including ‘‘whether
exceptions would apply to extremely
active option classes or new options on
equities that were subject to recent
initial public offerings’’ as such events
‘‘often increase customer demand for
more strikes, including at narrower
intervals.’’ 28 The commenter also
suggested that the proposal be flexible
to allow more granular strikes when
‘‘necessary to maintain an orderly
market, to meet customer demand, or
when the market price of the underlying
security moves substantially.’’ 29
In response, the Exchange proposed
text in Amendment No. 1 to address the
initial public offering situation by
adding a 3-month curtailment period by
which the new rule would not take
effect for such options until after the
end of the first full calendar quarter
following the date the options class was
first listed on any options market.30 The
Exchange states that the curtailment
period will ‘‘allow the initial customer
demand to be met’’ and ‘‘price discovery
to occur in the offering’’ before the new
strike intervals would apply in the
further out weeklies.31 Further, the
Exchange added text in Amendment No.
1 to clarify that the proposal would not
accommodate flexibility to add more
granular strikes for stocks with volatile
prices or in response to customer
requests.32 The Commission believes
the Exchange has addressed the
commenter’s concerns. While the
Exchange will not permit exceptions to
its new rule, weeklies in the first few
weeks are not impacted by the rule
change, so the Exchange will continue
to be able to list more granular strikes
in those weeks as appropriate to meet
customer demand in active classes or
28 Cboe
Letter, supra note 21, at 3.
29 Id.
30 BX
classes with volatile underlying stock
prices.
Finally, the commenter states that
‘‘exchanges should use quarterly ADV
data from a centralized party when
identifying classes subject to the strike
interval limits to ensure fair and
consistent application of the rule across
the industry.’’ 33 In response, the
Exchange added detail in Amendment
No. 1 to describe the report it will
prepare and publicly post that details
the applicable tier, Customer ADV, and
closing price for each affected weekly
series. The Exchange stated that the
public availability of this report should
‘‘provide consistency and relieve
administrative burdens on other options
markets’’ who ‘‘may elect to utilize [it]
to validate their own information.’’ 34
The Commission believes the Exchange
has addressed the commenter’s
concerns. The Exchange will use OCC
data to calculate the Customer ADV,
which is available to all options
exchanges, and will use the publiclyreported consolidated market data to
determine the underlying share price,
which also is available to all. Publishing
each series subject to the new rule with
its applicable strike increment, along
with the inputs used to determine those
increments, will promote transparency
and certainty among all market
participants of the application and effect
of the Exchange’s rule.
The Commission believes that the
Exchange’s proposal, as amended,
promotes just and equitable principles
of trade, fosters cooperation and
coordination with persons engaged in
facilitating transactions in securities,
and removes impediments to and
perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market
system. Specifically, the Commission
believes that the Exchange’s proposal to
increase, and thus limit, the intervals
between strikes listed under the STOS
program that have an expiration date
more than twenty-one days removes
impediments to and perfects the
mechanism of a free and open market
and a national market system by seeking
to strike an efficient balance between
offering customers choice of
appropriately granular strikes in less
liquid weekly options with higher
underlying stock prices and setting
rational and consistent strike intervals
that do not unduly burden the market
makers that quote them, the brokerdealers and customers that view and
trade them, or the infrastructure and
systems that handle the transmission,
Response, supra note 26, at 2.
31 Id.
33 Cboe
32 Id.
34 BX
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Letter, supra note 21, at 3.
Response, supra note 26, at 2.
Frm 00145
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10377
processing, and dissemination of
quotations, orders, and trades.
More efficient and better calibrated
strike increment rules can have a
positive impact on the options markets,
as it can provide certainty, minimize
confusion, and promote more efficient
use of resources including among
market makers that are obligated to
continuously quote such series, all
while still offering customers choice to
meet their investment needs. The
Exchange’s proposal should eliminate
certain clusters of relatively granular
strikes in further out weekly series,
whose characteristics (e.g., risk
properties) may closely resemble each
other as a result of their close strike
prices and length to time to expiration.
Such clustering may not be necessary in
less liquid further out weekly series
where the price of the underlying stock
is higher. The Exchange’s proposal
seeks to focus more granular strike
increments on those series where they
are more relevant, applicable, and likely
more in demand from customers.
Accordingly, the Exchange’s proposal is
designed to protect investors while also
supporting market quality. For these
reasons, the Commission finds that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments on
Amendment No. 1 to the Proposed Rule
Change
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning whether the
proposal, as modified by Amendment
No. 1, 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–
BX–2020–032 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–BX–2020–032. 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
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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 this
filing will also 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–BX–2020–032 and should
be submitted on or before March 12,
2021.
V. Accelerated Approval of Proposed
Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 1
The Commission finds good cause to
approve the proposed rule change, as
modified by Amendment No. 1, prior to
the thirtieth day after the date of
publication of Amendment No. 1 in the
Federal Register. In Amendment No. 1,
the Exchange provided additional
information to clarify and support the
proposal, and did not materially change
the substance of the proposal over what
the Commission published in the
Federal Register. Among other things,
in the Amendment the Exchange
committed to freely and publicly post a
‘‘report’’ in which it will detail the
weekly series that it will list under the
proposal, along with information on the
applicable strike interval tier and the
underlying Customer ADV and
underlying share price values upon
which it determined the applicable
strike interval. That information should
be useful to market participants, as well
as other options exchanges, as it will
provide transparency into how BX
applied its rule and should remove any
potential for confusion that could be
presented by a lack of transparency into
the applicable strike intervals BX will
apply under the new rule. Further, the
Exchange added detail to address when
the new rule will apply to a new option
(e.g., an option on a recent initial public
offering), which will provide certainty
as to how the new rule applies in such
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cases. Accordingly, the Commission
finds good cause, pursuant to Section
19(b)(2) of the Act,35 to approve the
proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 1, on an accelerated
basis.
VI. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,36 that the
proposed rule change SR–BX–2020–032,
as modified by Amendment No. 1 be,
and hereby is, approved.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.37
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–03342 Filed 2–18–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–91127; File No. SR–CBOE–
2020–075]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe
Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Designation
of a Longer Period for Commission
Action on Proceedings To Determine
Whether To Approve or Disapprove a
Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 2, To Make Qualified
Contingent Cross Orders Available for
FLEX Option Trading
February 12, 2021.
On August 3, 2020, Cboe Exchange,
Inc. filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’),
pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 a
proposed rule change to make Qualified
Contingent Cross Orders available for
FLEX option trading. The proposed rule
change was published in the Federal
Register on August 20, 2020.3 On
October 1, 2020, pursuant to Section
19(b)(2) of the Act,4 the Commission
designated a longer period within which
to approve the proposed rule change,
disapprove the proposed rule change, or
institute proceedings to determine
whether to disapprove the proposed
rule change.5 On October 23, 2020, the
Exchange submitted Amendment No. 1
to the proposed rule change, which
35 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
37 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89564
(August 14, 2020), 85 FR 51531 (‘‘Notice’’).
4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90062,
85 FR 63312 (October 7, 2020).
36 15
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replaced and superseded the proposed
rule change as originally filed.6 On
November 18, 2020, the Commission
instituted proceedings under Section
19(b)(2)(B) of the Act 7 to determine
whether to approve or disapprove the
proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 1.8 On February 2,
2021, the Exchange submitted
Amendment No. 2 to the proposed rule
change, which replaced and superseded
the proposed rule change, as modified
by Amendment No. 1.9
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 10 provides
that, after initiating proceedings, the
Commission shall issue an order
approving or disapproving the proposed
rule change not later than 180 days after
the date of publication of notice of filing
of the proposed rule change. The
Commission may extend the period for
issuing an order approving or
disapproving the proposed rule change,
however, by not more than 60 days if
the Commission determines that a
longer period is appropriate and
publishes the reasons for such
determination. The proposed rule
change was published for comment in
the Federal Register on August 20,
2020.11 The 180th day after publication
of the Notice is February 16, 2021. The
Commission is extending the time
period for approving or disapproving
the proposal for an additional 60 days.
The Commission finds that it is
appropriate to designate a longer period
within which to issue an order
approving or disapproving the proposed
rule change so that it has sufficient time
to consider the proposed rule change, as
modified by Amendment No. 2.
Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant
to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,12
designates April 17, 2021, as the date by
which the Commission shall either
approve or disapprove the proposed
rule change (File Number SR–CBOE–
2020–075), as modified by Amendment
No. 2.
6 Amendment No. 1 is available on the
Commission’s website at: https://www.sec.gov/
comments/sr-cboe-2020-075/srcboe20200757940531-224727.pdf.
7 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
8 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90457,
85 FR 75071 (November 24, 2020).
9 Amendment No. 2 is available on the
Commission’s website at: https://www.sec.gov/
comments/sr-cboe-2020-075/srcboe20200758330243-228699.pdf.
10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
11 See supra note 3.
12 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
E:\FR\FM\19FEN1.SGM
19FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 32 (Friday, February 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10375-10378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03342]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-91125; File No. SR-BX-2020-032]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing
of Amendment No. 1 and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed
Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, To Amend Options 4,
Section 5, To Limit Short Term Options Series Intervals Between Strikes
That Are Available for Quoting and Trading on BX
February 12, 2021.
I. Introduction
On November 6, 2020, Nasdaq BX, Inc. (``BX'' or ``Exchange'') filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission''), pursuant
to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'')
\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ a proposed rule change to amend
Options 4, Section 5, ``Series of Options Contracts Open for Trading''
to limit Short Term Options Series intervals between strikes which are
available for quoting and trading on BX. The proposed rule change was
published for comment in the Federal Register on November 16, 2020.\3\
On December 23, 2020, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,\4\ the
Commission extended the time period within which to approve the
proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute
proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove the proposed
rule change, to February 14, 2021.\5\ On February 10, 2021, the
Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change, which
replaced and superseded the proposed rule change in its entirety.\6\
The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 1, from interested
persons, and is approving the proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 1, on an accelerated basis.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90384 (November 9,
2020), 85 FR 73113 (November 16, 2020) (``Notice''). Comments on the
proposed rule change can be found at https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-bx-2020-032/srbx2020032.htm.
\4\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90796 (December 23,
2020), 85 FR 86590 (December 30, 2020).
\6\ In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange: (1) Stated that the
proposed changes in Supplementary Material .07 of Options 4, Section
5 supersede Supplementary Material .03(d) and that the Exchange will
not be able to utilize the rule text within Supplementary Material
.03(d) to permit additional series to be opened for trading on the
Exchange that have an expiration date more than twenty-one days from
the listing date despite the noted circumstances when such
additional series could otherwise be added; (2) clarified how a
Short Term Option Opening Date is calculated when the Exchange is
not open for business on the applicable Thursday or Friday; (3)
provided that that Short Term Options Series that are newly eligible
for listing pursuant to Options 4, Section 3(a) will not be subject
to proposed Supplementary Material .07 until after the end of the
first full calendar quarter following the date the option class was
first listed for trading on any options market; (4) discussed
additional data underlying its proposal; (5) proposed to make
publically available a report on a quarterly basis that indicates,
for each Short Term Options Series eligible to be listed under
proposed Supplementary Material .07 of Options 4, Section 5, the
applicable tiering, which includes the closing price of the
underlying, and the average daily Customer volume of the option; and
(6) changed its implementation timeframe for the proposed rule
change from prior to March 31, 2021 to prior to June 30, 2021. When
the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1, it also submitted it as a
comment to the filing so that the text of Amendment No. 1 promptly
became available at https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-bx-2020-032/srbx2020032-8359799-229182.pdf.
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II. Description of the Proposed Rule Change
Currently, under the Short Term Options Series (``STOS'') program
(also referred to as the ``weekly series'' or ``weeklies''), BX may
open for trading on a Thursday or Friday (``Short Term Option Opening
Date'') a series of options that expires on each of the next five
Fridays that are business days and are not Fridays in which monthly
options series or Quarterly Options series expire (``Short Term Option
Expiration Dates'').\7\ Weeklies currently may have strike price
intervals of $0.50, $1, or $2.50.\8\
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\7\ See Supplementary Material .03 of Options 4, Section 5.
There are limits on the number of series that can participate in
STOS (i.e., 30 initial series and up to 50 currently listed
classes). See Supplementary Material .03 of Options 4, Section 5(c).
In addition to the weeklies, the Exchange may list series of options
for trading with monthly expirations (that expire on the third
Friday of the month) or quarterly expirations. See Options 4,
Section 5(g) and Supplementary Material .04 of Options 4, Section 5,
respectively. Exchange rules set forth the intervals between strike
prices of series of options on individual stocks, which generally
are $2.50, $5, and $10. In addition to those intervals, the Exchange
may list certain series of options in finer increments, including,
e.g., pursuant to the $1 Strike Price Interval Program
(Supplementary Material .01 of Options 4, Section 5) and the $0.50
Strike Program (Supplementary Material .05 of Options 4, Section 5).
\8\ Specifically, (i) $0.50 or greater where the strike price is
less than $100, and $1 or greater where the strike price is between
$100 and $150 for all option classes that participate in the Short
Term Options Series Program; (ii) $0.50 for option classes that
trade in one dollar increments and are in the Short Term Options
Series Program; or (iii) $2.50 or greater where the strike price is
above $150. See Amendment No. 1, supra note 6, at 34.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 1, the
Exchange proposes to amend its STOS Program to increase, and thereby
limit, the intervals between strikes in multiply listed equity options
(excluding options on Exchange Traded Funds (``ETFs'') and Exchange
Traded Notes (``ETNs'')) under the STOS program for those weeklies that
have an expiration date more than twenty-one days from the listing
date.\9\ Accordingly, the proposal seeks to reduce the number of
strikes in the weeklies furthest from expiration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ The proposal does not apply to index options.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifically, the new applicable strike intervals will be as
follows: \10\
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\10\ The table supersedes Supplementary Material .03(d), which
currently permits additional series to be opened for trading on the
Exchange when the Exchange deems it necessary to maintain an orderly
market, to meet customer demand, or when the market price of the
underlying security moves substantially from the exercise price or
prices of the series already opened. As a result, the Exchange will
not be able to utilize the rule text within Supplementary Material
.03(d) to permit additional series to be opened for trading on BX
that have an expiration date more than twenty-one days from the
listing date despite the noted circumstances when such additional
series could otherwise be added.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Underlying share price
Customer-range options average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier daily volume $25 to less $75 to less $150 to less $500 or
Less than $25 than $75 than $150 than $500 greater
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................... greater than 5,000.............. $0.50 $1.00 $1.00 $5.00 $5.00
2..................................... 1,000 to 5,000.................. 1.00 1.00 1.00 5.00 10.00
3..................................... 0 to 1,000...................... 2.50 5.00 5.00 5.00 10.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 10376]]
As shown in the table, the proposal sets the strike increment for
those weekly series with an expiration date of more than twenty-one
days from the listing date (e.g., weeks 4 and 5) through a matrix of 15
possible choices representing 5 different strike intervals (i.e.,
$0.50, $1, $2.50, $5, or $10). The Exchange will determine the
applicable strike interval through a combination of two factors: (1)
The Customer-cleared average daily volume (``ADV'') tier for the option
over the applicable quarter \11\ and (2) the closing share price of the
underlying stock on its primary market on the last day of the calendar
quarter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ The Customer-cleared ADV is the total number of options
contracts traded in the Customer range in a given security for the
applicable calendar quarter, divided by the number of trading days
in the applicable calendar quarter. Beginning on the second trading
day of each calendar quarter, the ADV will be calculated by using
data from the prior calendar quarter based on volume cleared in the
Customer range as reported by the Options Clearing Corporation
(``OCC'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange states that STOS comprise a significant portion of
listed options, as the weekly strikes increased at a 8.9% compound
annual growth rate (``CAGR'') from 2015 to 2020, compared to a 4.3%
CAGR for standard expirations using 3rd Friday expirations. Weeklies
are available on 16% of underlying products, and weeklies with an
expiration date greater than twenty-one days from the listing date
account for 7.5% of the total number of strikes in the options market,
equaling approximately 81,000 strikes.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See Amendment No. 1, supra note 6, at 42.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In its filing, the Exchange explains that it chose to use OCC
Customer-cleared volume because the Exchange believes it represents a
measure of customer demand, including for the weekly series.\13\ Under
the proposal, higher customer demand results in a tier that corresponds
to a more granular strike interval (e.g., $0.50 instead of $2.50).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ See id. at 22.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange further explains that its proposal seeks to reduce the
number of strikes in the furthest weekly options series, which the
Exchange believes typically have wider markets and lower market
quality.\14\ The Exchange's proposal imposes more distanced strike
intervals where the underlying stock has higher priced shares and where
there is less customer volume as measured by the ADV tiers. Conversely,
the proposal preserves finer strike intervals for options that have
higher Customer ADV and lower priced underlying stocks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ See id. at 40-41, for the Exchange's data on average
spreads in weekly options during the month of August 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BX also proposes to make publically and freely available a report
on a quarterly basis that indicates, for each weekly series eligible to
be listed under proposed Supplementary Material .07 of Options 4,
Section 5, the applicable strike increment, the applicable closing
price of the underlying stock sourced from the closing prices for Tape
A, B and C securities published by the UTP and CTA/CQ Plans, and the
applicable Customer ADV of the option sourced from OCC. BX will post
the report by the close of business on the first trading day of the
quarter.
The Exchange intends that its proposal will allow market makers to
deploy capital more efficiently, while improving displayed market
quality, by tailoring the granularity of strikes to correspond to the
anticipated future customer demand for the option and the price of the
underlying stock, thus reducing the number of listed weekly options in
the later weeks of the STOS program.\15\ The Exchange states that its
proposal is responsive to concerns from industry members, including
market makers, regarding the proliferation of strike prices.\16\ The
Exchange expects that its proposal will be the first step in a broader
initiative to revisit the patchwork of strike listing rules.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ See id. at 44.
\16\ See id. at 45.
\17\ See id. at 45-46.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Discussion and Commission Findings
After careful review of the proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 1, and the comment letters received on the proposal, the
Commission finds that the proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 1, is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the
rules and regulations thereunder applicable to national securities
exchanges.\18\ In particular, the Commission finds that the proposed
rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 1, is consistent with Section
6(b)(5) of the Act,\19\ which requires that the rules of an exchange be
designed, among other things, to prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade,
to foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in
facilitating transactions in securities, and to remove impediments to
and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national
market system, and, in general, to protect investors and the public
interest.
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\18\ In approving this proposed rule change, the Commission has
considered the proposed rule's impact on efficiency, competition,
and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
\19\ 17 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission received several comments expressing support for the
proposed rule change.\20\ Another commenter expressed general support
for the goals of the proposal but suggested ideas to simplify and
clarify the proposal.\21\ In particular, that commenter recommends that
the proposal be ``simplified in its application'' because it believes
the ADV and underlying share price components could be ``unduly
burdensome from an exchange operational perspective.'' \22\ The
commenter states that the proposal could ``create significant
operational overhead with respect to implementing and maintaining this
proposed strike listing regime'' but would only ``result in a limited
strike reduction''.\23\ Further, the commenter states that the
proposal's ``complexity may also cause confusion among participants
regarding permissible strikes.'' \24\ As an alternative, the commenter
suggests ``use of a single ADV component for classes to qualify for the
STOS program'' such as 2,500 ADV.\25\
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\20\ See Letters to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary, Commission,
from Chris Halverson, Chairman of the Board, Security Traders
Association and James Toes, President & CEO, Security Traders
Association, dated December 9, 2020; from Joanna Mallers, Secretary,
FIA Principal Traders Group, dated December 8, 2020; from Venu
Palaparthi, Managing Director, Dash Financial Technologies LLC,
dated December 7, 2020; from Andrew Stevens, General Counsel, IMC
Chicago, LLC, dated December 7, 2020; from Joseph P. Kamnik, Chief
Regulatory Counsel, Options Clearing Corporation, dated December 4,
2020; and from Ellen Greene, Managing Director, Equities & Options
Market Structure, Securities Industry and Financial Markets
Association, dated December 4, 2020.
\21\ See Letter to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary, Commission,
from Laura G. Dickman Vice President, Associate General Counsel,
Cboe Exchange, Inc., dated February 1, 2021 (``Cboe Letter'').
\22\ Cboe Letter, supra note 21 at 2.
\23\ Id.
\24\ Id.
\25\ Id.
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In response, the Exchange states that its proposal ``was not
intended to amend the current STOS program'' but rather was to
``curtail certain strike intervals within STOS to avoid operational
burdens to listing exchanges.'' \26\ The Exchange believes that the
commenter's suggested alternative ``may have a detrimental impact on of
meeting customer demand in terms of the availability of STOS which are
listed today.'' \27\ The Commission believes the Exchange has
[[Page 10377]]
addressed the commenter's concern. The Exchange's proposal, though
modest in scope, is an attempt to rationalize strike listing rules in
the furthest-out weekly series, which may serve as a starting point to
a broader initiative to revisit, harmonize, and update the panoply of
strike listing rules more broadly. The Exchange's proposal is but one
of many possible alternative approaches that could address the same or
similar goals. Nevertheless, the Exchange's proposal reflects its
preferred approach, which the Commission finds is consistent with the
Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ See Letter to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary, Commission,
from Kevin Kennedy, Senior Vice President, North American Markets,
Nasdaq, Inc., dated February 10, 2021 (``BX Response''), at 1.
\27\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The commenter also suggested certain aspects of the proposal that
could be further clarified, including ``whether exceptions would apply
to extremely active option classes or new options on equities that were
subject to recent initial public offerings'' as such events ``often
increase customer demand for more strikes, including at narrower
intervals.'' \28\ The commenter also suggested that the proposal be
flexible to allow more granular strikes when ``necessary to maintain an
orderly market, to meet customer demand, or when the market price of
the underlying security moves substantially.'' \29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\ Cboe Letter, supra note 21, at 3.
\29\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response, the Exchange proposed text in Amendment No. 1 to
address the initial public offering situation by adding a 3-month
curtailment period by which the new rule would not take effect for such
options until after the end of the first full calendar quarter
following the date the options class was first listed on any options
market.\30\ The Exchange states that the curtailment period will
``allow the initial customer demand to be met'' and ``price discovery
to occur in the offering'' before the new strike intervals would apply
in the further out weeklies.\31\ Further, the Exchange added text in
Amendment No. 1 to clarify that the proposal would not accommodate
flexibility to add more granular strikes for stocks with volatile
prices or in response to customer requests.\32\ The Commission believes
the Exchange has addressed the commenter's concerns. While the Exchange
will not permit exceptions to its new rule, weeklies in the first few
weeks are not impacted by the rule change, so the Exchange will
continue to be able to list more granular strikes in those weeks as
appropriate to meet customer demand in active classes or classes with
volatile underlying stock prices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ BX Response, supra note 26, at 2.
\31\ Id.
\32\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the commenter states that ``exchanges should use quarterly
ADV data from a centralized party when identifying classes subject to
the strike interval limits to ensure fair and consistent application of
the rule across the industry.'' \33\ In response, the Exchange added
detail in Amendment No. 1 to describe the report it will prepare and
publicly post that details the applicable tier, Customer ADV, and
closing price for each affected weekly series. The Exchange stated that
the public availability of this report should ``provide consistency and
relieve administrative burdens on other options markets'' who ``may
elect to utilize [it] to validate their own information.'' \34\ The
Commission believes the Exchange has addressed the commenter's
concerns. The Exchange will use OCC data to calculate the Customer ADV,
which is available to all options exchanges, and will use the publicly-
reported consolidated market data to determine the underlying share
price, which also is available to all. Publishing each series subject
to the new rule with its applicable strike increment, along with the
inputs used to determine those increments, will promote transparency
and certainty among all market participants of the application and
effect of the Exchange's rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\33\ Cboe Letter, supra note 21, at 3.
\34\ BX Response, supra note 26, at 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission believes that the Exchange's proposal, as amended,
promotes just and equitable principles of trade, fosters cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged in facilitating transactions in
securities, and removes impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a
free and open market and a national market system. Specifically, the
Commission believes that the Exchange's proposal to increase, and thus
limit, the intervals between strikes listed under the STOS program that
have an expiration date more than twenty-one days removes impediments
to and perfects the mechanism of a free and open market and a national
market system by seeking to strike an efficient balance between
offering customers choice of appropriately granular strikes in less
liquid weekly options with higher underlying stock prices and setting
rational and consistent strike intervals that do not unduly burden the
market makers that quote them, the broker-dealers and customers that
view and trade them, or the infrastructure and systems that handle the
transmission, processing, and dissemination of quotations, orders, and
trades.
More efficient and better calibrated strike increment rules can
have a positive impact on the options markets, as it can provide
certainty, minimize confusion, and promote more efficient use of
resources including among market makers that are obligated to
continuously quote such series, all while still offering customers
choice to meet their investment needs. The Exchange's proposal should
eliminate certain clusters of relatively granular strikes in further
out weekly series, whose characteristics (e.g., risk properties) may
closely resemble each other as a result of their close strike prices
and length to time to expiration. Such clustering may not be necessary
in less liquid further out weekly series where the price of the
underlying stock is higher. The Exchange's proposal seeks to focus more
granular strike increments on those series where they are more
relevant, applicable, and likely more in demand from customers.
Accordingly, the Exchange's proposal is designed to protect investors
while also supporting market quality. For these reasons, the Commission
finds that the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments on Amendment No. 1 to the Proposed Rule
Change
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning whether the proposal, as modified by Amendment No.
1, 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-BX-2020-032 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-BX-2020-032. 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
[[Page 10378]]
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
this filing will also 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-BX-2020-032
and should be submitted on or before March 12, 2021.
V. Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 1
The Commission finds good cause to approve the proposed rule
change, as modified by Amendment No. 1, prior to the thirtieth day
after the date of publication of Amendment No. 1 in the Federal
Register. In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange provided additional
information to clarify and support the proposal, and did not materially
change the substance of the proposal over what the Commission published
in the Federal Register. Among other things, in the Amendment the
Exchange committed to freely and publicly post a ``report'' in which it
will detail the weekly series that it will list under the proposal,
along with information on the applicable strike interval tier and the
underlying Customer ADV and underlying share price values upon which it
determined the applicable strike interval. That information should be
useful to market participants, as well as other options exchanges, as
it will provide transparency into how BX applied its rule and should
remove any potential for confusion that could be presented by a lack of
transparency into the applicable strike intervals BX will apply under
the new rule. Further, the Exchange added detail to address when the
new rule will apply to a new option (e.g., an option on a recent
initial public offering), which will provide certainty as to how the
new rule applies in such cases. Accordingly, the Commission finds good
cause, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,\35\ to approve the
proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 1, on an accelerated
basis.
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\35\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VI. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the
Act,\36\ that the proposed rule change SR-BX-2020-032, as modified by
Amendment No. 1 be, and hereby is, approved.
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\36\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-03342 Filed 2-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
