[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 885-887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31606]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-71215; File No. SR-NYSE-2013-82]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC;
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change
Amending its Price List Related to Fees for Trading Licenses and To
Delete Obsolete Text
December 31, 2013.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given
that, on December 18, 2013, New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' or
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II,
and III below, which Items have been prepared by the 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\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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[[Page 886]]
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amending [sic] its Price List related to
fees for trading licenses and to delete obsolete text. The Exchange
proposes to implement the Price List change immediately. The text of
the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site at
www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the
Commission's Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the 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 its Price List related to fees for
trading licenses and to delete obsolete text. The Exchange proposes to
implement the Price List change immediately.
NYSE Rule 300(b) provides that, in each annual offering, up to
1,366 trading licenses for the following calendar year will be sold
annually at a price per trading license to be established each year by
the Exchange pursuant to a rule filing submitted to the Securities and
Exchange Commission (``Commission'') and that the price per trading
license will be published each year in the Exchange's Price List. The
trading license fees for 2013 are $40,000 per trading license for the
first two licenses held by a member organization and $25,000 for each
additional trading license. For trading licenses issued after January
1, 2013, fees are prorated for the portion of the calendar year that
the trading license is outstanding.\3\
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\3\ For a trading license that is in place for 15 calendar days
or less in a calendar month, proration for that month would be at a
flat rate of $100 per day with no tier pricing involved. For a
trading license that is in place for 16 calendar days or more in a
calendar month, proration for that month would be computed based on
the number of days as applied to the applicable annual fee for the
trading license. See Price List at current n. 16.
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If, however, a member organization is issued additional trading
licenses between July 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013, and the total
number of trading licenses held by the member organization between July
1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 is greater than the total number of
trading licenses held by the member organization on July 1, 2013, then
the member organization is not charged a prorated fee for the period
from July 3, 2013 to December 31, 2013 for those additional trading
licenses above the number the member organization held on July 1,
2013.\4\ If a firm becomes a member organization after July 1, 2013,
the firm is assigned a baseline of one trading license and charged a
prorated fee for that license. Any trading licenses in addition to the
first trading license are not charged a prorated fee for the period
from July 3, 2013 to December 31, 2013. If a member organization merges
with another member organization on or after July 1, 2013, the total
combined number of trading licenses held by each member organization on
July 1, 2013 is considered the baseline number of trading licenses for
the successor member organization as of the date of the merger.
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\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 69992 (July 16,
2013), 78 FR 43947 (July 22, 2013) (SR-NYSE-2013-51). See also Price
List at current n. 16.
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For 2014, the Exchange proposes to extend the fee relief for
additional licenses until December 31, 2014. As a result, an annual fee
would not apply to the number of trading licenses issued to a member
organization between July 3, 2013 and December 31, 2014 that exceeds
the total number of trading licenses held by the member organization on
July 1, 2013. The Exchange proposes to maintain July 1, 2013 as the
baseline date so that a consistent point in time would be used to
determine how many trading licenses for which a member organization
would be charged. The fee calculation for new or merged member
organizations would also be extended. Thus, for any firm that becomes a
member organization after July 1, 2013, the firm would be considered to
have one trading license as of July 1, 2013 and charged a fee for that
one license through December 31, 2014. For example, if a firm became a
member organization on November 1, 2013, it would pay a prorated fee
for one license until December 31, 2013 ($6,666) and then, under the
current rates, pay $40,000 for 2014. If a firm becomes a member
organization on March 1, 2014, it would pay a prorated fee under
current rates for one license for the remainder of 2014 ($33,334). If a
member organization merges with another member organization on or after
July 1, 2013, the total combined number of trading licenses held by
each member organization on July 1, 2013 would be considered the
baseline number of trading licenses for the successor member
organization as of the date of the merger through December 31, 2014.
Footnote 15 in the Price List currently provides that Floor brokers
will receive a monthly credit of $2,000 for the first two Floor broker
licenses held by a member organization and a monthly credit of $500 for
each additional Floor broker license held by a member organization for
November and December 2012. Additionally, the Price List currently
includes a section pertaining to the New York Block Exchange
(``NYBX''), which was an electronic exchange facility that ceased
operating on February 28, 2013.\5\ The Exchange proposes to delete this
text because it is obsolete.\6\
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\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 68861 (February 7,
2013), 78 FR 10226 (February 13, 2013) (SR-NYSE-2013-12).
\6\ The Exchange would renumber current footnote 16 as new
footnote 15.
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The proposed change is not otherwise intended to address any other
issues and the Exchange is not aware of any problems that members or
member organizations would have in complying with the proposed change.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\7\ in general, and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\8\ in
particular, because it provides for the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its members, issuers and
other persons using its facilities and does not unfairly discriminate
between customers, issuers, brokers or dealers.
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\7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\8\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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The Exchange believes that the proposed change is reasonable
because maintaining fee relief for the number of trading licenses that
exceeds the total number of trading licenses held by the member
organization on July 1, 2013 would continue to encourage member
organizations to hold additional trading licenses, which would increase
the number of market participants trading on the floor of the Exchange,
thereby promoting liquidity, price discovery and the opportunity for
price improvement for the benefit of all market participants. The
Exchange believes that it is
[[Page 887]]
reasonable to maintain July 1, 2013 as the applicable baseline date so
that a consistent point in time would be used to determine how many
trading licenses for which a member organization would be charged,
which would continue to provide member organizations with greater
flexibility in managing their personnel. Further, the proposed billing
for trading licenses would encourage additional firms to become member
organizations on the Exchange, which would contribute to the quality of
the Exchange's market.
The Exchange believes that the proposed change is equitable and not
unfairly discriminatory because all similarly situated member
organizations would continue to be subject to the same trading license
fee structure and because access to the Exchange's market would
continue to be offered on fair and nondiscriminatory terms. The
Exchange also believes that the proposed change is equitable and not
unfairly discriminatory because all member organizations would continue
to have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the fee relief with
respect to additional trading licenses. The Exchange believes that it
is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory to continue to assign new
member organizations a baseline of one trading license because this
will continue to encourage firms to become member organizations,
thereby encouraging trading activity on the Exchange, which benefits
all market participants.
The Exchange also believes that removing obsolete text from the
Price List is consistent with the Act because it would add greater
clarity for member organizations.
For these reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposal is
consistent with the Act.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\9\ 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. Instead, the proposed change would help to remove
a potential burden on competition by making it easier for member
organizations to appropriately staff the floor of the Exchange, which
is a key feature of the Exchange's structure for offering a fair and
orderly market and competing with other exchanges. The proposed change
would also contribute to making membership on the Exchange as a member
organization more economical and could therefore lead to increased
competition on the Exchange between member organizations. This, in
turn, could lead to increased intermarket competition between the
Exchange and other markets.
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\9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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Finally, the Exchange notes that it operates in a highly
competitive market in which market participants can readily favor
competing venues if they deem fee or credit levels at a particular
venue to be unattractive. In such an environment, the Exchange must
continually review, and consider adjusting, its fees and credits to
remain competitive with other exchanges. For these reasons, the
Exchange believes that the proposed rule change reflects this
competitive environment and is therefore consistent with the Act.
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) \10\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule
19b-4 \11\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other
charge imposed by the Exchange.
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\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\11\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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) \12\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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\12\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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 (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-NYSE-2013-82 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2013-82. This file
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available
for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2013-82 and should be
submitted on or before January 28, 2014.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\13\
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\13\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-31606 Filed 1-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P [FEDREG][VOL]*[/VOL][NO]*[/NO][DATE]*[/
DATE][NOTICES]