80 FR 13927 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami International Securities Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its Fee Schedule

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 51 (March 17, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13927-13929]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06010]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-74479; File No. SR-MIAX-2015-17]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami International Securities 
Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a 
Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its Fee Schedule

March 11, 2015.
    Pursuant to the provisions of 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 March 2, 2015, Miami International Securities 
Exchange LLC (``MIAX'' or ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (``Commission'') a proposed rule change as 
described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared 
by the Exchange. 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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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of the 
Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange is filing a proposal to amend its Fee Schedule.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
Web site at http://www.miaxoptions.com/filter/wotitle/rule_filing, at 
MIAX's principal office, 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 Exchange included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and 
discussed

[[Page 13928]]

any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these 
statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. 
The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C 
below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

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

1. Purpose
    The Exchange currently has a monthly transaction fee cap of $60,000 
for orders that are entered and executed for an account identified by 
an Electronic Exchange Member for clearing in the OCC ``Firm'' range 
``Monthly Firm Fee Cap''.\3\ The Monthly Firm Fee Cap is based on the 
similar fees of another competing options exchange.\4\ The Exchange 
proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to delete the Monthly Firm Fee Cap.
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72583 (July 10, 
2014), 79 FR 41612 (July 16, 2014) (SR-MIAX-2014-37).
    \4\ See NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC Pricing Schedule, Section II. See 
also Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 59393 (February 11, 2009). 
74 FR 7721 (February 19, 2009) (SR-PHLX-2009-12); 65888 (December 5, 
2011), 76 FR 77046 (December 9, 2011) (SR-PHLX-2011-160). See also 
NYSE Amex Options Fee Schedule, p. 15.
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    The current transaction fees for Firms on the Exchange are: $0.37 
per contract for executions in standard option contracts and $0.04 per 
contract for mini option contracts in Penny Pilot options classes; and 
$0.42 per contract for executions in standard option contracts and 
$0.04 per contract for mini option contracts in non-Penny Pilot options 
classes. The Exchange currently caps in a single billing month the 
total amount of transaction fees for Firms at $60,000.
    The Monthly Firm Fee Cap was adopted to create an additional 
incentive for Firms to send order flow to the Exchange. Now that the 
Exchange is beginning to receive additional order flow from Firms, the 
Exchange believes that it is appropriate to remove the Monthly Firm Fee 
Cap in order to more closely align the transaction fees of Firms with 
non-Firm Members. Therefore, the Exchange now proposes to amend the Fee 
Schedule to delete the Monthly Firm Fee Cap. Firms will be subject to 
applicable transaction fees provided in the Fee Schedule.\5\
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    \5\ See MIAX Options Fee Schedule, Section 1)a)ii) [sic].
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act \6\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of Section 6(b)(4) of the Act \7\ in particular, in that it 
is an equitable allocation of reasonable fees and other charges among 
Exchange members.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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    The Exchange believes that the proposal is fair, equitable and not 
unreasonably discriminatory. The proposed deletion of the Monthly Firm 
Fee Cap is reasonable because the Exchange no longer believes it is 
necessary to continue to provide an additional incentive for Firms to 
send order flow to the Exchange. The proposed fees are fair and 
equitable and not unreasonably discriminatory because they will apply 
equally to all Members that have transactions that clear in the Firm 
range. All Firms will be subject to the same transaction fee, and 
access to the Exchange is offered on terms that are not unfairly 
discriminatory. The proposed change should increase the competition 
amongst Firms and other types of market participants by eliminating a 
fee cap that only applied to Firms. As a result, the transaction fees 
for Firms will more closely align with the transaction fees of non-Firm 
Members. To the extent that this purpose is achieved, all the 
Exchange's market participants should benefit from the increased 
competition.

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 not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange believes the 
proposal is consistent with robust competition by increasing the 
intramarket competition between Firms and non-Firm Members. The 
Exchange believes that the proposal will decrease the competitive 
burden on non-Firm Members by removing an additional incentive that 
only applied to Firms. As a result, the transaction fees for Firms will 
more closely align with the transaction fees of non-Firm Members. To 
the extent that this purpose is achieved, all the Exchange's market 
participants should benefit from the increased competition. The 
Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which 
market participants can readily favor competing venues if they deem fee 
levels at a particular venue to be excessive. In such an environment, 
the Exchange must continually adjust its fees to remain competitive 
with other exchanges and to attract order flow. The Exchange believes 
that the proposal reflects this competitive environment.

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

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received.

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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.\8\ At any time within 60 days of the filing 
of the 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 to determine whether the proposed rule should be 
approved or disapproved.
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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-MIAX-2015-17 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Brent J. Fields, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-MIAX-2015-17. 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

[[Page 13929]]

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-MIAX-2015-17, and should be submitted on or before April 
7, 2015.
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    \9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-06010 Filed 3-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P