Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Change To Amend the NYSE American Options Fee Schedule Concerning the Options Regulatory Fee, 73376-73380 [2022-25943]

Download as PDF 73376 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 29, 2022 / Notices action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B) 19 of the Act to determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Electronic Comments • Use the Commission’s internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/ rules/sro.shtml); or • Send an email to rule-comments@ sec.gov. Please include File No. SR– NYSEARCA–2022–78 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 No. SR–NYSEARCA–2022–78. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission’s internet website (https://www.sec.gov/ rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in the Commission’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit 19 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:29 Nov 28, 2022 Jkt 259001 personal identifying information from comment submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File No. SR–NYSEARCA–2022–78, and should be submitted on or before December 20, 2022. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.20 Sherry R. Haywood, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2022–25945 Filed 11–28–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–96373; File No. SR– NYSEAMER–2022–52] Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Change To Amend the NYSE American Options Fee Schedule Concerning the Options Regulatory Fee November 22, 2022. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3 notice is hereby given that, on November 14, 2022, NYSE American LLC (‘‘NYSE American’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend the NYSE American Options Fee Schedule (‘‘Fee Schedule’’) regarding the Options Regulatory Fee (‘‘ORF’’), effective November 14, 2022.4 The proposed change is available on the Exchange’s website at www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. 20 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 4 The Exchange previously filed to amend the Fee Schedule on September 28, 2022 (SR–NYSEAMER– 2022–45) and withdrew such filing on November 14, 2022. 1 15 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements. A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and the Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to (1) waive the ORF for the period November 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023; (2) eliminate the requirement that the Exchange may only modify the ORF semi-annually; and (3) delete outdated language relating to the ORF for August 30, 2019 (the ‘‘August 2019 ORF’’). Background As a general matter, the Exchange may only use regulatory funds such as the ORF ‘‘to fund the legal, regulatory, and surveillance operations’’ of the Exchange.5 More specifically, the ORF is designed to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s costs for the supervision and regulation of ATP Holders, including the Exchange’s regulatory program and legal expenses associated with options, such as the costs related to in-house staff, third-party service providers, and technology that facilitate surveillance, investigation, examinations and enforcement (collectively, the ‘‘ORF Costs’’). ORF funds may also be used for indirect expenses such as human resources and other administrative costs. The Exchange monitors the amount of revenue collected from the ORF to ensure that this revenue, in combination with other regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed regulatory costs. The ORF is assessed on ATP Holders for options transactions that are cleared 5 The Exchange considers surveillance operations part of regulatory operations. The limitation on the use of regulatory funds also provides that they shall not be distributed. See Thirteenth Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of NYSE American LLC, Article IV, Section 4.05 and Securities Exchange Act Release No. 87993 (January 16, 2020), 85 FR 4050 (January 23, 2020) (SR–NYSEAMER– 2020–04). E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM 29NON1 73377 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 29, 2022 / Notices by the ATP Holder through the Options Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) in the Customer range regardless of the exchange on which the transaction occurs.6 All options transactions must clear via a clearing firm and such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, a portion, or none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the entering firms. Because the ORF is collected from ATP Holder clearing firms by the OCC on behalf of NYSE American,7 the Exchange believes that using options transactions in the Customer range serves as a proxy for how to apportion regulatory costs among such ATP Holders. In addition, the Exchange notes that the costs relating to monitoring ATP Holders with respect to Customer trading activity are generally higher than the costs associated with monitoring ATP Holders that do not engage in Customer trading activity, which tends to be more automated and less labor-intensive. By contrast, regulating ATP Holders that engage in Customer trading activity is generally more labor intensive and requires a greater expenditure of human and technical resources as the Exchange needs to review not only the trading activity on behalf of Customers, but also the ATP Holder’s relationship with its Customers via more labor-intensive exam-based programs.8 As a result, the costs associated with administering the customer component of the Exchange’s overall regulatory program are materially higher than the costs associated with administering the noncustomer component (e.g., ATP Holder proprietary transactions) of its regulatory program. ORF Collections and Monitoring of ORF Exchange rules establish that the Exchange may only increase or decrease the ORF semi-annually, that any such fee change will be effective on the first business day of February or August, and that market participants must be notified of any such change via Trader Update at least 30 calendar days prior to the effective date of the change.9 Because the ORF is based on options transactions volume, the amount of ORF collected is variable. For example, if options transactions reported to OCC in a given month increase, the ORF collected from ATP Holders will likely increase as well. Similarly, if options transactions reported to OCC in a given month decrease, the ORF collected from ATP Holders will likely decrease as well. Accordingly, the Exchange monitors the amount of ORF collected to ensure that it does not exceed the ORF Costs. If the Exchange determines the amount of ORF collected exceeds costs over an extended period, the Exchange may adjust the ORF by submitting a fee change filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’). Temporary ORF Waiver Based on the Exchange’s recent review of regulatory costs and ORF collections, the Exchange proposes to waive the ORF from November 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023 in order to help ensure that the amount collected 2019 2020 2021 2022 Customer ADV ................................................................................................. 15,234,198 25,598,023 34,730,276 33,939,560 Total ADV ................................................................................................. 35,083,673 55,369,993 74,339,870 75,497,647 In addition, the below industry data from OCC demonstrates the high options trading volumes (especially when compared to 2019 and 2020) and Customer ADV ....................................................... khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES from the ORF, in combination with other regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed the Exchange’s total regulatory costs. The Exchange proposes to resume assessing the ORF on February 1, 2023 at the current rate of $0.0055 per contract. The Exchange notified ATP Holders of the proposed change to the ORF via Trader Update on September 29, 2022 (which was at least 30 calendar days prior to the proposed operative date of the waiver, November 1, 2022) so that market participants have an opportunity to configure their systems to account for the waiver of the ORF. The Exchange’s proposal to waive the ORF for the month of January 2023 would similarly provide ATP Holders with additional time in the new year to make any necessary adjustments or preparations for the resumption of the ORF effective February 1, 2023. The proposed waiver is based on recent options volumes. The options industry has continued to experience extremely high options trading volumes and volatility, and options volume in 2022 remains high, particularly when compared to options volume in 2019 and 2020. The persisting increased options volumes have, in turn, impacted the Exchange’s ORF collection. For example, total average daily volume in 2022, to date, is 115% higher than total average daily volume in 2019, and customer average daily volume in 2022, to date, is 123% higher than customer average daily volume in 2019. Below is industry data from OCC 10 illustrating the significant increase in options volume between 2019 and 2022: 6 See Fee Schedule, Section VII, Regulatory Fees, Options Regulatory Fee (‘‘ORF’’), available here, https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/ american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_ Schedule.pdf. 7 See id. The Exchange uses reports from OCC when assessing and collecting the ORF. The ORF is not assessed on outbound linkage trades. An ATP Holder is not assessed the fee until it has satisfied applicable technological requirements necessary to commence operations on NYSE American. See id. 8 The Exchange notes that many of the Exchange’s market surveillance programs require the Exchange VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:29 Nov 28, 2022 Jkt 259001 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 33,266,801 34,202,077 31,469,858 30,506,706 to look at and evaluate activity across all options markets, such as surveillance for position limit violations, manipulation, front-running and contrary exercise advice violations/expiring exercise declarations. The Exchange and other options SROs are parties to a 17d–2 agreement allocating among the SROs regulatory responsibilities relating to compliance by the common members with rules for expiring exercise declarations, position limits, OCC trade adjustments, and Large Option Position Report reviews. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release PO 00000 volatility that the industry has continued to experience in 2022: Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 August 2022 September 2022 33,013,156 34,149,000 No. 85097 (February 11, 2019), 84 FR 4871 (February 19, 2019). 9 See Fee Schedule, supra note 6. 10 The OCC publishes options and futures volume in a variety of formats, including daily and monthly volume by exchange, available here: https:// www.theocc.com/Market-Data/Market-DataReports/Volume-and-Open-Interest/MonthlyWeekly-Volume-Statistics. The volume discussed in this filing is based on a compilation of OCC data for monthly volume of equity-based options and monthly volume of ETF-based options, in contract sides. E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM 29NON1 73378 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 29, 2022 / Notices Total ADV ....................................................... Because of the sustained impact of the unprecedented trading volumes that have persisted through 2021 and 2022, along with the difficulty of predicting when volumes may return to more normal levels, the Exchange proposes to waive the ORF from November 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023 to help ensure that ORF collection will not exceed ORF Costs for 2022. The Exchange cannot predict whether options volume will remain at these levels going forward and projections for future regulatory costs are estimated, preliminary, and may change. However, the Exchange believes that the proposed waiver of the ORF would allow the Exchange to continue to monitor the amount collected from the ORF to help ensure that ORF collection, in combination with other regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed regulatory costs without the need to account for any ORF collection during that timeframe. The Exchange proposes to resume assessing the current ORF rate of $0.0055 per contract side as of February 1, 2023. khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Semi-Annual Changes to ORF As noted above, the Fee Schedule currently specifies that the Exchange may only increase or decrease the ORF semi-annually and that any such fee change will be effective on the first business day of February or August.11 NYSE American proposes to eliminate this requirement to afford the Exchange increased flexibility in amending the ORF.12 Although the Exchange proposes to eliminate the requirement to adjust the ORF only semi-annually, it would continue to submit a proposed rule change for each modification of the ORF and notify ATP Holders of any planned change to the ORF by Trader Update at least 30 calendar days prior to the effective date of such change. The Exchange believes that the prior notification to ATP Holders will provide guidance on the timing of any changes to the ORF and ensure that ATP Holders are prepared to configure their systems to properly account for the ORF. The Exchange will also issue a Trader Update informing ATP Holders of the 11 See Fee Schedule, supra note 6. Exchange notes that at least one other options exchange has previously removed this requirement with respect to adjusting the ORF. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76950 (January 21, 2016), 81 FR 4687 (January 27, 2016) (SR–NASDAQ–2016–003) (Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Options Regulatory Fee). 12 The VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:29 Nov 28, 2022 Jkt 259001 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 73,140,597 76,254,734 70,628,926 68,535,963 ORF adjustment proposed in this filing, as described below, at least 30 calendar days prior to the proposed effective date. August 2019 ORF The Exchange proposes to delete language in the Fee Schedule pertaining to the August 2019 ORF, which was relevant only for the August 30, 2019 trading day and thus no longer reflects a fee currently assessed by the Exchange. The Exchange believes this change would improve the clarity of the Fee Schedule by removing obsolete language. 2. Statutory Basis The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the provisions of Section 6(b) 13 of the Act, in general, and Section 6(b)(4) and (5) 14 of the Act, in particular, in that it is designed to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its members and other persons using its facilities and does not unfairly discriminate between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. The Proposal Is Reasonable The Exchange believes the proposed temporary waiver of the ORF is reasonable because it would help ensure that collections from the ORF do not exceed a material portion of the Exchange’s ORF Costs. As noted above, the Exchange may only use regulatory funds such as ORF ‘‘to fund the legal, regulatory, and surveillance operations’’ of the Exchange.15 In this regard, the ORF is designed to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s ORF Costs. Although there can be no assurance that the Exchange’s final costs for 2022 will not differ materially from its expectations and prior practice, nor can the Exchange predict with certainty whether options volume will remain at the current level going forward, the Exchange believes that the amount collected based on the current ORF rate, when combined with regulatory fees and fines, may result in collections in excess of the estimated ORF Costs for the year. Particularly, as noted above, the options market has continued to experience unanticipated and elevated volumes in 2022, particularly as 13 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 15 See note 5, supra. 14 15 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 August 2022 September 2022 73,487,342 77,134,470 compared to 2019 and 2020, due in large part to the continued extreme volatility in the marketplace as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic. This unprecedented spike in volatility, which has persisted through 2021 and 2022, resulted in significantly higher volume than was originally projected by the Exchange, thereby resulting in substantially higher ORF collections than projected (particularly as compared to ORF Costs which had been projected to decrease in 2022). The Exchange therefore believes that it would be reasonable to waive ORF from November 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023 to help ensure that ORF collection does not exceed the ORF Costs for 2022.16 Particularly, the Exchange believes that waiving the ORF from November 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023 and taking into account all of the Exchange’s other regulatory fees and fines would allow the Exchange to continue covering a material portion of ORF Costs, while lessening the potential for generating excess funds that may otherwise occur using the current rate. The Exchange would resume assessing its current ORF ($0.0055 per contract) as of February 1, 2023. The Exchange also believes that resumption of the ORF at the current rate on February 1, 2023 (unless the Exchange determines it necessary to adjust the ORF rate to help ensure that ORF collections do not exceed ORF Costs) is reasonable because it would permit the Exchange to resume collecting an ORF that is designed to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s projected ORF Costs. The Exchange would continue monitoring in advance of the resumption of the ORF and when ORF collection resumes on February 1, 2023 and, if the Exchange determines that, in light of projected volumes and ORF Costs, the ORF rate should be modified to help ensure that ORF collections would not exceed ORF Costs, adjust the ORF by submitting a filing a proposed rule change and notifying ATP Holders of such change by Trader Update. The Exchange believes that the proposed elimination of language specifying that the Exchange may only increase or decrease the ORF semi16 The Exchange’s proposal to also waive the ORF for the month of January 2023 would provide ATP Holders with additional time in the new year to make any necessary adjustments or preparations for the resumption of the ORF effective February 1, 2023. E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM 29NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 29, 2022 / Notices khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES annually and that any such fee change must be effective on the first business day of February or August is reasonable because it is designed to afford the Exchange increased flexibility in making necessary adjustments to the ORF, as the Exchange is required to monitor the amount collected from the ORF to ensure that it, in combination with its other regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed ORF Costs. The Exchange also believes the proposed change is reasonable because the Exchange will continue to provide market participants with 30 days advance notice of changes to the ORF, thereby providing ATP Holders with adequate time to make any necessary adjustments to accommodate the change. The Exchange also believes that the proposed deletion of language relating to the August 2019 ORF is reasonable because it would remove obsolete language and thus improve the clarity of the Fee Schedule. The Proposal Is an Equitable Allocation of Fees The Exchange believes its proposal is an equitable allocation of fees among its market participants. The Exchange believes that the proposed waiver would not place certain market participants at an unfair disadvantage because all options transactions must clear via a clearing firm. Such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, a portion, or none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the entering firms. Because the ORF is collected from ATP Holder clearing firms by the OCC on behalf of NYSE American, the Exchange believes that using options transactions in the Customer range serves as a proxy for how to apportion ORF Costs among such ATP Holders. In addition, the Exchange notes that the costs relating to monitoring ATP Holders with respect to Customer trading activity are generally higher than the costs associated with monitoring ATP Holders that do not engage in Customer trading activity, which tends to be more automated and less labor-intensive. By contrast, regulating ATP Holders that engage in Customer trading activity is generally more labor intensive and requires a greater expenditure of human and technical resources as the Exchange needs to review not only the trading activity on behalf of Customers, but also the ATP Holder’s relationship with its Customers via more labor-intensive exam-based programs. As a result, the costs associated with administering the customer component of the Exchange’s overall regulatory program are materially higher than the costs VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:29 Nov 28, 2022 Jkt 259001 associated with administering the noncustomer component (e.g., ATP Holder proprietary transactions) of its regulatory program. Thus, the Exchange believes that a temporary waiver of the ORF is an equitable allocation of fees because it would apply equally to all ATP Holders on all their transactions that clear in the Customer range at the OCC. The Exchange also believes that recommencing the ORF on February 1, 2023 at the current rate, unless the Exchange determines it necessary to adjust the ORF to ensure that ORF collections do not exceed ORF Costs, is equitable because the Exchange would resume assessing an ORF designed to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s projected ORF Costs, and the ORF would likewise resume applying equally to all ATP Holders on options transactions in the Customer range. The Exchange also believes that the proposed change to eliminate the requirement that the Exchange modify the ORF only semi-annually in February or August is equitable because the change would impact all ATP Holders subject to the ORF uniformly, and all ATP Holders would continue to receive at least 30 days’ advance notice of changes to the ORF. The proposed change to remove language relating to the August 2019 ORF is also equitable because it would eliminate language from the Fee Schedule that is no longer applicable to any ATP Holders. The Proposed Fee Is Not Unfairly Discriminatory The Exchange believes that the proposal is not unfairly discriminatory. The Exchange believes that the proposed waiver of the ORF would not place certain market participants at an unfair disadvantage because all options transactions must clear via a clearing firm. Such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, a portion, or none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the entering firms. Because the ORF is collected from ATP Holder clearing firms by the OCC on behalf of NYSE American, the Exchange believes that using options transactions in the Customer range serves as a proxy for how to apportion regulatory costs among such ATP Holders. In addition, the Exchange notes that the costs relating to monitoring ATP Holders with respect to Customer trading activity are generally higher than the costs associated with monitoring ATP Holders that do not engage in Customer trading activity, which tends to be more automated and less labor-intensive. By contrast, regulating ATP Holders that engage in Customer trading activity is PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 73379 generally more labor intensive and requires a greater expenditure of human and technical resources as the Exchange needs to review not only the trading activity on behalf of Customers, but also the ATP Holder’s relationship with its Customers via more labor-intensive exam-based programs. As a result, the costs associated with administering the customer component of the Exchange’s overall regulatory program are materially higher than the costs associated with administering the noncustomer component (e.g., ATP Holder proprietary transactions) of its regulatory program. Thus, the Exchange believes the temporary waiver of the ORF and the proposed modification of language relating to the Exchange’s ability to modify the ORF are not unfairly discriminatory because the changes would apply to all ATP Holders subject to the ORF and the Exchange would provide all such ATP Holders with 30 days’ advance notice of planned changes to the ORF. The Exchange also believes that recommencing the ORF on February 1, 2023 at the current rate, unless the Exchange determines it necessary to adjust the ORF to ensure that ORF collections do not exceed ORF Costs, is not unfairly discriminatory because the Exchange would resume assessing an ORF designed to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s projected ORF Costs, and the ORF would resume applying equally to all ATP Holders based on their transactions that clear in the Customer range at the OCC. The Exchange believes that the proposed change to eliminate the semiannual change requirement is not unfairly discriminatory because the change would apply to all ATP Holders subject to the ORF. Furthermore, all ATP Holders would continue to be notified of changes to the ORF at least 30 days prior to the effectiveness of any such change. The proposed change to remove language relating to the August 2019 ORF is also not unfairly discriminatory because it would eliminate language from the Fee Schedule describing a fee that was effective only for August 30, 2019 and thus no longer impacts any ATP Holders. B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Burden on Competition The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Intramarket Competition. The Exchange believes the proposed change would not impose an undue burden on E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM 29NON1 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES 73380 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 29, 2022 / Notices competition because the ORF is charged to all ATP Holders on all their transactions that clear in the Customer range at the OCC; thus, the amount of ORF imposed is based on the amount of Customer volume transacted. The Exchange believes that the proposed temporary waiver of the ORF would not place certain market participants at an unfair disadvantage because all options transactions must clear via a clearing firm. Such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, a portion, or none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the entering firms. In addition, because the ORF is collected from ATP Holder clearing firms by the OCC on behalf of NYSE American, the Exchange believes that using options transactions in the Customer range serves as a proxy for how to apportion regulatory costs among such ATP Holders. The Exchange also believes recommencing the ORF on February 1, 2023 at the current rate (unless the Exchange determines it necessary at that time to adjust the ORF to ensure that ORF collections do not exceed ORF Costs) would not impose an undue burden on competition because it would permit the Exchange to resume collecting an ORF that is designed to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s projected ORF Costs and the ORF would, as currently, apply to all ATP Holders on their options transactions that clear in the Customer range at the OCC. The Exchange further believes that the proposed change to remove the semi-annual requirement would not impose any burden on competition because the change would impact all ATP Holders subject to the ORF, and the Exchange will continue to provide advance notice of changes to the ORF to all ATP Holders via Trader Update. The Exchange also believes that the proposed change to eliminate language relating to the August 2019 ORF would not impact intramarket competition because it would simply add clarity to the Fee Schedule by removing text describing a fee that is no longer effective. Intermarket Competition. The proposed fee change is not designed to address any competitive issues. Rather, the proposed change is designed to help the Exchange adequately fund its regulatory activities while seeking to ensure that total collections from regulatory fees do not exceed total regulatory costs and to promote clarity in the Fee Schedule by deleting obsolete text. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:29 Nov 28, 2022 Jkt 259001 C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change. III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 17 of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b–4 18 thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge imposed by the Exchange. At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B) 19 of the Act to determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved. internet website (https://www.sec.gov/ rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in the Commission’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal 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 No. SR–NYSEAMER–2022–52, and should be submitted on or before December 20, 2022. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.20 Sherry R. Haywood, Assistant Secretary. 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 No. SR– NYSEAMER–2022–52 on the subject line. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 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 No. SR–NYSEAMER–2022–52. 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 17 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 19 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). [FR Doc. 2022–25943 Filed 11–28–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P [Public Notice 11923] Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls: Notifications to the Congress of Proposed Commercial Export Licenses ACTION: Notice. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and the Department of State give notice that the attached Notifications of Proposed Commercial Export Licenses were submitted to the Congress on the dates indicated. DATES: The dates of notification to Congress are as shown on each of the 19 letters. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Paula C. Harrison, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), Department of State at (202) 663–3310; or access the DDTC website at https:// SUMMARY: 18 17 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 20 17 E:\FR\FM\29NON1.SGM CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 29NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73376-73380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25943]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-96373; File No. SR-NYSEAMER-2022-52]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Change To Amend the NYSE 
American Options Fee Schedule Concerning the Options Regulatory Fee

November 22, 2022.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby 
given that, on November 14, 2022, NYSE American LLC (``NYSE American'' 
or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, 
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-
regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to 
solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend the NYSE American Options Fee 
Schedule (``Fee Schedule'') regarding the Options Regulatory Fee 
(``ORF''), effective November 14, 2022.\4\ The proposed change is 
available on the Exchange's website at www.nyse.com, at the principal 
office of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
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    \4\ The Exchange previously filed to amend the Fee Schedule on 
September 28, 2022 (SR-NYSEAMER-2022-45) and withdrew such filing on 
November 14, 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization 
included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the 
proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the 
proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at 
the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared 
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most 
significant parts of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to (1) waive the 
ORF for the period November 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023; (2) 
eliminate the requirement that the Exchange may only modify the ORF 
semi-annually; and (3) delete outdated language relating to the ORF for 
August 30, 2019 (the ``August 2019 ORF'').
Background
    As a general matter, the Exchange may only use regulatory funds 
such as the ORF ``to fund the legal, regulatory, and surveillance 
operations'' of the Exchange.\5\ More specifically, the ORF is designed 
to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange's costs for 
the supervision and regulation of ATP Holders, including the Exchange's 
regulatory program and legal expenses associated with options, such as 
the costs related to in-house staff, third-party service providers, and 
technology that facilitate surveillance, investigation, examinations 
and enforcement (collectively, the ``ORF Costs''). ORF funds may also 
be used for indirect expenses such as human resources and other 
administrative costs. The Exchange monitors the amount of revenue 
collected from the ORF to ensure that this revenue, in combination with 
other regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed regulatory costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The Exchange considers surveillance operations part of 
regulatory operations. The limitation on the use of regulatory funds 
also provides that they shall not be distributed. See Thirteenth 
Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of NYSE American LLC, 
Article IV, Section 4.05 and Securities Exchange Act Release No. 
87993 (January 16, 2020), 85 FR 4050 (January 23, 2020) (SR-
NYSEAMER-2020-04).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ORF is assessed on ATP Holders for options transactions that 
are cleared

[[Page 73377]]

by the ATP Holder through the Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC'') in 
the Customer range regardless of the exchange on which the transaction 
occurs.\6\ All options transactions must clear via a clearing firm and 
such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, a portion, or 
none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the entering firms. 
Because the ORF is collected from ATP Holder clearing firms by the OCC 
on behalf of NYSE American,\7\ the Exchange believes that using options 
transactions in the Customer range serves as a proxy for how to 
apportion regulatory costs among such ATP Holders. In addition, the 
Exchange notes that the costs relating to monitoring ATP Holders with 
respect to Customer trading activity are generally higher than the 
costs associated with monitoring ATP Holders that do not engage in 
Customer trading activity, which tends to be more automated and less 
labor-intensive. By contrast, regulating ATP Holders that engage in 
Customer trading activity is generally more labor intensive and 
requires a greater expenditure of human and technical resources as the 
Exchange needs to review not only the trading activity on behalf of 
Customers, but also the ATP Holder's relationship with its Customers 
via more labor-intensive exam-based programs.\8\ As a result, the costs 
associated with administering the customer component of the Exchange's 
overall regulatory program are materially higher than the costs 
associated with administering the non-customer component (e.g., ATP 
Holder proprietary transactions) of its regulatory program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See Fee Schedule, Section VII, Regulatory Fees, Options 
Regulatory Fee (``ORF''), available here, https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf.
    \7\ See id. The Exchange uses reports from OCC when assessing 
and collecting the ORF. The ORF is not assessed on outbound linkage 
trades. An ATP Holder is not assessed the fee until it has satisfied 
applicable technological requirements necessary to commence 
operations on NYSE American. See id.
    \8\ The Exchange notes that many of the Exchange's market 
surveillance programs require the Exchange to look at and evaluate 
activity across all options markets, such as surveillance for 
position limit violations, manipulation, front-running and contrary 
exercise advice violations/expiring exercise declarations. The 
Exchange and other options SROs are parties to a 17d-2 agreement 
allocating among the SROs regulatory responsibilities relating to 
compliance by the common members with rules for expiring exercise 
declarations, position limits, OCC trade adjustments, and Large 
Option Position Report reviews. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act 
Release No. 85097 (February 11, 2019), 84 FR 4871 (February 19, 
2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORF Collections and Monitoring of ORF
    Exchange rules establish that the Exchange may only increase or 
decrease the ORF semi-annually, that any such fee change will be 
effective on the first business day of February or August, and that 
market participants must be notified of any such change via Trader 
Update at least 30 calendar days prior to the effective date of the 
change.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ See Fee Schedule, supra note 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because the ORF is based on options transactions volume, the amount 
of ORF collected is variable. For example, if options transactions 
reported to OCC in a given month increase, the ORF collected from ATP 
Holders will likely increase as well. Similarly, if options 
transactions reported to OCC in a given month decrease, the ORF 
collected from ATP Holders will likely decrease as well. Accordingly, 
the Exchange monitors the amount of ORF collected to ensure that it 
does not exceed the ORF Costs. If the Exchange determines the amount of 
ORF collected exceeds costs over an extended period, the Exchange may 
adjust the ORF by submitting a fee change filing to the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (the ``Commission'').
Temporary ORF Waiver
    Based on the Exchange's recent review of regulatory costs and ORF 
collections, the Exchange proposes to waive the ORF from November 1, 
2022 through January 31, 2023 in order to help ensure that the amount 
collected from the ORF, in combination with other regulatory fees and 
fines, does not exceed the Exchange's total regulatory costs. The 
Exchange proposes to resume assessing the ORF on February 1, 2023 at 
the current rate of $0.0055 per contract. The Exchange notified ATP 
Holders of the proposed change to the ORF via Trader Update on 
September 29, 2022 (which was at least 30 calendar days prior to the 
proposed operative date of the waiver, November 1, 2022) so that market 
participants have an opportunity to configure their systems to account 
for the waiver of the ORF. The Exchange's proposal to waive the ORF for 
the month of January 2023 would similarly provide ATP Holders with 
additional time in the new year to make any necessary adjustments or 
preparations for the resumption of the ORF effective February 1, 2023.
    The proposed waiver is based on recent options volumes. The options 
industry has continued to experience extremely high options trading 
volumes and volatility, and options volume in 2022 remains high, 
particularly when compared to options volume in 2019 and 2020. The 
persisting increased options volumes have, in turn, impacted the 
Exchange's ORF collection.
    For example, total average daily volume in 2022, to date, is 115% 
higher than total average daily volume in 2019, and customer average 
daily volume in 2022, to date, is 123% higher than customer average 
daily volume in 2019. Below is industry data from OCC \10\ illustrating 
the significant increase in options volume between 2019 and 2022:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ The OCC publishes options and futures volume in a variety 
of formats, including daily and monthly volume by exchange, 
available here: https://www.theocc.com/Market-Data/Market-Data-Reports/Volume-and-Open-Interest/Monthly-Weekly-Volume-Statistics. 
The volume discussed in this filing is based on a compilation of OCC 
data for monthly volume of equity-based options and monthly volume 
of ETF-based options, in contract sides.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       2019            2020            2021            2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer ADV....................................      15,234,198      25,598,023      34,730,276      33,939,560
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total ADV...................................      35,083,673      55,369,993      74,339,870      75,497,647
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, the below industry data from OCC demonstrates the high 
options trading volumes (especially when compared to 2019 and 2020) and 
volatility that the industry has continued to experience in 2022:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               April 2022    May 2022    June 2022    July 2022    August 2022   September 2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer ADV................   33,266,801   34,202,077   31,469,858   30,506,706    33,013,156        34,149,000
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 73378]]

 
    Total ADV...............   73,140,597   76,254,734   70,628,926   68,535,963    73,487,342        77,134,470
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because of the sustained impact of the unprecedented trading 
volumes that have persisted through 2021 and 2022, along with the 
difficulty of predicting when volumes may return to more normal levels, 
the Exchange proposes to waive the ORF from November 1, 2022 through 
January 31, 2023 to help ensure that ORF collection will not exceed ORF 
Costs for 2022. The Exchange cannot predict whether options volume will 
remain at these levels going forward and projections for future 
regulatory costs are estimated, preliminary, and may change. However, 
the Exchange believes that the proposed waiver of the ORF would allow 
the Exchange to continue to monitor the amount collected from the ORF 
to help ensure that ORF collection, in combination with other 
regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed regulatory costs without the 
need to account for any ORF collection during that timeframe. The 
Exchange proposes to resume assessing the current ORF rate of $0.0055 
per contract side as of February 1, 2023.
Semi-Annual Changes to ORF
    As noted above, the Fee Schedule currently specifies that the 
Exchange may only increase or decrease the ORF semi-annually and that 
any such fee change will be effective on the first business day of 
February or August.\11\ NYSE American proposes to eliminate this 
requirement to afford the Exchange increased flexibility in amending 
the ORF.\12\ Although the Exchange proposes to eliminate the 
requirement to adjust the ORF only semi-annually, it would continue to 
submit a proposed rule change for each modification of the ORF and 
notify ATP Holders of any planned change to the ORF by Trader Update at 
least 30 calendar days prior to the effective date of such change. The 
Exchange believes that the prior notification to ATP Holders will 
provide guidance on the timing of any changes to the ORF and ensure 
that ATP Holders are prepared to configure their systems to properly 
account for the ORF. The Exchange will also issue a Trader Update 
informing ATP Holders of the ORF adjustment proposed in this filing, as 
described below, at least 30 calendar days prior to the proposed 
effective date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See Fee Schedule, supra note 6.
    \12\ The Exchange notes that at least one other options exchange 
has previously removed this requirement with respect to adjusting 
the ORF. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76950 
(January 21, 2016), 81 FR 4687 (January 27, 2016) (SR-NASDAQ-2016-
003) (Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule 
Change To Amend the Options Regulatory Fee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 2019 ORF
    The Exchange proposes to delete language in the Fee Schedule 
pertaining to the August 2019 ORF, which was relevant only for the 
August 30, 2019 trading day and thus no longer reflects a fee currently 
assessed by the Exchange. The Exchange believes this change would 
improve the clarity of the Fee Schedule by removing obsolete language.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with the provisions of Section 6(b) \13\ of the Act, in general, and 
Section 6(b)(4) and (5) \14\ of the Act, in particular, in that it is 
designed to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 
fees, and other charges among its members and other persons using its 
facilities and does not unfairly discriminate between customers, 
issuers, brokers, or dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Proposal Is Reasonable
    The Exchange believes the proposed temporary waiver of the ORF is 
reasonable because it would help ensure that collections from the ORF 
do not exceed a material portion of the Exchange's ORF Costs. As noted 
above, the Exchange may only use regulatory funds such as ORF ``to fund 
the legal, regulatory, and surveillance operations'' of the 
Exchange.\15\ In this regard, the ORF is designed to recover a material 
portion, but not all, of the Exchange's ORF Costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See note 5, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Although there can be no assurance that the Exchange's final costs 
for 2022 will not differ materially from its expectations and prior 
practice, nor can the Exchange predict with certainty whether options 
volume will remain at the current level going forward, the Exchange 
believes that the amount collected based on the current ORF rate, when 
combined with regulatory fees and fines, may result in collections in 
excess of the estimated ORF Costs for the year. Particularly, as noted 
above, the options market has continued to experience unanticipated and 
elevated volumes in 2022, particularly as compared to 2019 and 2020, 
due in large part to the continued extreme volatility in the 
marketplace as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented 
spike in volatility, which has persisted through 2021 and 2022, 
resulted in significantly higher volume than was originally projected 
by the Exchange, thereby resulting in substantially higher ORF 
collections than projected (particularly as compared to ORF Costs which 
had been projected to decrease in 2022). The Exchange therefore 
believes that it would be reasonable to waive ORF from November 1, 2022 
through January 31, 2023 to help ensure that ORF collection does not 
exceed the ORF Costs for 2022.\16\ Particularly, the Exchange believes 
that waiving the ORF from November 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023 and 
taking into account all of the Exchange's other regulatory fees and 
fines would allow the Exchange to continue covering a material portion 
of ORF Costs, while lessening the potential for generating excess funds 
that may otherwise occur using the current rate. The Exchange would 
resume assessing its current ORF ($0.0055 per contract) as of February 
1, 2023. The Exchange also believes that resumption of the ORF at the 
current rate on February 1, 2023 (unless the Exchange determines it 
necessary to adjust the ORF rate to help ensure that ORF collections do 
not exceed ORF Costs) is reasonable because it would permit the 
Exchange to resume collecting an ORF that is designed to recover a 
material portion, but not all, of the Exchange's projected ORF Costs. 
The Exchange would continue monitoring in advance of the resumption of 
the ORF and when ORF collection resumes on February 1, 2023 and, if the 
Exchange determines that, in light of projected volumes and ORF Costs, 
the ORF rate should be modified to help ensure that ORF collections 
would not exceed ORF Costs, adjust the ORF by submitting a filing a 
proposed rule change and notifying ATP Holders of such change by Trader 
Update.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ The Exchange's proposal to also waive the ORF for the month 
of January 2023 would provide ATP Holders with additional time in 
the new year to make any necessary adjustments or preparations for 
the resumption of the ORF effective February 1, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange believes that the proposed elimination of language 
specifying that the Exchange may only increase or decrease the ORF 
semi-

[[Page 73379]]

annually and that any such fee change must be effective on the first 
business day of February or August is reasonable because it is designed 
to afford the Exchange increased flexibility in making necessary 
adjustments to the ORF, as the Exchange is required to monitor the 
amount collected from the ORF to ensure that it, in combination with 
its other regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed ORF Costs. The 
Exchange also believes the proposed change is reasonable because the 
Exchange will continue to provide market participants with 30 days 
advance notice of changes to the ORF, thereby providing ATP Holders 
with adequate time to make any necessary adjustments to accommodate the 
change.
    The Exchange also believes that the proposed deletion of language 
relating to the August 2019 ORF is reasonable because it would remove 
obsolete language and thus improve the clarity of the Fee Schedule.
The Proposal Is an Equitable Allocation of Fees
    The Exchange believes its proposal is an equitable allocation of 
fees among its market participants. The Exchange believes that the 
proposed waiver would not place certain market participants at an 
unfair disadvantage because all options transactions must clear via a 
clearing firm. Such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, 
a portion, or none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the 
entering firms. Because the ORF is collected from ATP Holder clearing 
firms by the OCC on behalf of NYSE American, the Exchange believes that 
using options transactions in the Customer range serves as a proxy for 
how to apportion ORF Costs among such ATP Holders. In addition, the 
Exchange notes that the costs relating to monitoring ATP Holders with 
respect to Customer trading activity are generally higher than the 
costs associated with monitoring ATP Holders that do not engage in 
Customer trading activity, which tends to be more automated and less 
labor-intensive. By contrast, regulating ATP Holders that engage in 
Customer trading activity is generally more labor intensive and 
requires a greater expenditure of human and technical resources as the 
Exchange needs to review not only the trading activity on behalf of 
Customers, but also the ATP Holder's relationship with its Customers 
via more labor-intensive exam-based programs. As a result, the costs 
associated with administering the customer component of the Exchange's 
overall regulatory program are materially higher than the costs 
associated with administering the non-customer component (e.g., ATP 
Holder proprietary transactions) of its regulatory program. Thus, the 
Exchange believes that a temporary waiver of the ORF is an equitable 
allocation of fees because it would apply equally to all ATP Holders on 
all their transactions that clear in the Customer range at the OCC. The 
Exchange also believes that recommencing the ORF on February 1, 2023 at 
the current rate, unless the Exchange determines it necessary to adjust 
the ORF to ensure that ORF collections do not exceed ORF Costs, is 
equitable because the Exchange would resume assessing an ORF designed 
to recover a material portion, but not all, of the Exchange's projected 
ORF Costs, and the ORF would likewise resume applying equally to all 
ATP Holders on options transactions in the Customer range.
    The Exchange also believes that the proposed change to eliminate 
the requirement that the Exchange modify the ORF only semi-annually in 
February or August is equitable because the change would impact all ATP 
Holders subject to the ORF uniformly, and all ATP Holders would 
continue to receive at least 30 days' advance notice of changes to the 
ORF. The proposed change to remove language relating to the August 2019 
ORF is also equitable because it would eliminate language from the Fee 
Schedule that is no longer applicable to any ATP Holders.
The Proposed Fee Is Not Unfairly Discriminatory
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is not unfairly 
discriminatory. The Exchange believes that the proposed waiver of the 
ORF would not place certain market participants at an unfair 
disadvantage because all options transactions must clear via a clearing 
firm. Such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, a 
portion, or none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the 
entering firms. Because the ORF is collected from ATP Holder clearing 
firms by the OCC on behalf of NYSE American, the Exchange believes that 
using options transactions in the Customer range serves as a proxy for 
how to apportion regulatory costs among such ATP Holders. In addition, 
the Exchange notes that the costs relating to monitoring ATP Holders 
with respect to Customer trading activity are generally higher than the 
costs associated with monitoring ATP Holders that do not engage in 
Customer trading activity, which tends to be more automated and less 
labor-intensive. By contrast, regulating ATP Holders that engage in 
Customer trading activity is generally more labor intensive and 
requires a greater expenditure of human and technical resources as the 
Exchange needs to review not only the trading activity on behalf of 
Customers, but also the ATP Holder's relationship with its Customers 
via more labor-intensive exam-based programs. As a result, the costs 
associated with administering the customer component of the Exchange's 
overall regulatory program are materially higher than the costs 
associated with administering the non-customer component (e.g., ATP 
Holder proprietary transactions) of its regulatory program. Thus, the 
Exchange believes the temporary waiver of the ORF and the proposed 
modification of language relating to the Exchange's ability to modify 
the ORF are not unfairly discriminatory because the changes would apply 
to all ATP Holders subject to the ORF and the Exchange would provide 
all such ATP Holders with 30 days' advance notice of planned changes to 
the ORF. The Exchange also believes that recommencing the ORF on 
February 1, 2023 at the current rate, unless the Exchange determines it 
necessary to adjust the ORF to ensure that ORF collections do not 
exceed ORF Costs, is not unfairly discriminatory because the Exchange 
would resume assessing an ORF designed to recover a material portion, 
but not all, of the Exchange's projected ORF Costs, and the ORF would 
resume applying equally to all ATP Holders based on their transactions 
that clear in the Customer range at the OCC.
    The Exchange believes that the proposed change to eliminate the 
semi-annual change requirement is not unfairly discriminatory because 
the change would apply to all ATP Holders subject to the ORF. 
Furthermore, all ATP Holders would continue to be notified of changes 
to the ORF at least 30 days prior to the effectiveness of any such 
change. The proposed change to remove language relating to the August 
2019 ORF is also not unfairly discriminatory because it would eliminate 
language from the Fee Schedule describing a fee that was effective only 
for August 30, 2019 and thus no longer impacts any ATP Holders.

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

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
    Intramarket Competition. The Exchange believes the proposed change 
would not impose an undue burden on

[[Page 73380]]

competition because the ORF is charged to all ATP Holders on all their 
transactions that clear in the Customer range at the OCC; thus, the 
amount of ORF imposed is based on the amount of Customer volume 
transacted. The Exchange believes that the proposed temporary waiver of 
the ORF would not place certain market participants at an unfair 
disadvantage because all options transactions must clear via a clearing 
firm. Such clearing firms can then choose to pass through all, a 
portion, or none of the cost of the ORF to its customers, i.e., the 
entering firms. In addition, because the ORF is collected from ATP 
Holder clearing firms by the OCC on behalf of NYSE American, the 
Exchange believes that using options transactions in the Customer range 
serves as a proxy for how to apportion regulatory costs among such ATP 
Holders. The Exchange also believes recommencing the ORF on February 1, 
2023 at the current rate (unless the Exchange determines it necessary 
at that time to adjust the ORF to ensure that ORF collections do not 
exceed ORF Costs) would not impose an undue burden on competition 
because it would permit the Exchange to resume collecting an ORF that 
is designed to recover a material portion, but not all, of the 
Exchange's projected ORF Costs and the ORF would, as currently, apply 
to all ATP Holders on their options transactions that clear in the 
Customer range at the OCC. The Exchange further believes that the 
proposed change to remove the semi-annual requirement would not impose 
any burden on competition because the change would impact all ATP 
Holders subject to the ORF, and the Exchange will continue to provide 
advance notice of changes to the ORF to all ATP Holders via Trader 
Update. The Exchange also believes that the proposed change to 
eliminate language relating to the August 2019 ORF would not impact 
intramarket competition because it would simply add clarity to the Fee 
Schedule by removing text describing a fee that is no longer effective.
    Intermarket Competition. The proposed fee change is not designed to 
address any competitive issues. Rather, the proposed change is designed 
to help the Exchange adequately fund its regulatory activities while 
seeking to ensure that total collections from regulatory fees do not 
exceed total regulatory costs and to promote clarity in the Fee 
Schedule by deleting obsolete text.

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

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the 
proposed rule change.

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

    The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to 
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \17\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 
19b-4 \18\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other 
charge imposed by the Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \18\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule 
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule 
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or 
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or 
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission 
takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under 
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \19\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed 
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Solicitation of Comments

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

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an email to [email protected]. Please include 
File No. SR-NYSEAMER-2022-52 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 No. SR-NYSEAMER-2022-52. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help 
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, 
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on 
the Commission's internet website (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). 
Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written 
statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with 
the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed 
rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those 
that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions 
of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in 
the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549, on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 
3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection 
and copying at the principal 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 No. SR-NYSEAMER-2022-52, and should be submitted 
on or before December 20, 2022.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-25943 Filed 11-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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