80_FR_54796 80 FR 54621 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Options Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Fee Schedule on the BOX Market LLC Options Facility

80 FR 54621 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Options Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Fee Schedule on the BOX Market LLC Options Facility

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 175 (September 10, 2015)

Page Range54621-54625
FR Document2015-22741

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 175 (Thursday, September 10, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 175 (Thursday, September 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54621-54625]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22741]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-75826; File No. SR-BOX-2015-29]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX Options Exchange LLC; Notice 
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To 
Amend the Fee Schedule on the BOX Market LLC Options Facility

September 3, 2015.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given 
that on September 1, 2015, BOX Options Exchange LLC (the ``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 Exchange. The Exchange filed the 
proposed rule change pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,\3\ 
and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposal 
effective upon filing with the Commission. 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.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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 with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') a proposed rule change to amend the Fee Schedule on 
the BOX Market LLC (``BOX'') options facility. While changes to the fee 
schedule pursuant to this proposal will be effective upon filing, the 
changes will become operative on September 1, 2015. The text of the 
proposed rule change is available from the principal office of the 
Exchange, at the Commission's Public Reference Room and also on the 
Exchange's Internet Web site at http://boxexchange.com.

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 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 proposes to make a number of changes to Facilitation 
and Solicitation fees and credits within the BOX Fee Schedule.
    First, the Exchange proposes to amend Section I (Exchange Fees) to 
establish a subsection entitled ``Facilitation and Solicitation 
Transactions.'' The Exchange proposes to move all the fees associated 
with Facilitation and Solicitation Transactions \5\ from Section I.B. 
(Auction Transactions) to this new section.
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    \5\ Transactions executed through the Solicitation Auction 
mechanism and Facilitation Auction mechanism.
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    The Exchange then proposes to adjust exchange fees for Facilitation 
and Solicitation Transactions. For Agency Orders \6\ Professional 
Customers and Brokers Dealers are currently charged $0.37 and Market 
Makers are charged $0.20. Broker Dealers, Professional Customers, and 
Market Makers are charged $0.25 for Facilitation and Solicitation 
Orders.\7\ The Exchange proposes to remove the Agency Order and 
Facilitation and Solicitation Order exchange fees for all Participants, 
as well as the $25,000 fee cap for these transactions. Additionally, 
the Exchange proposes to reduce the exchange fees for Responses to the 
Facilitation and Solicitation mechanisms. For Responses in these 
mechanisms, Public Customers are currently charged $0.15, Professional 
Customer and Broker Dealers are charged $0.37, and Market Makers are 
charged $0.30. The revised fee structure for Facilitation and 
Solicitation Transactions will be as follows:
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    \6\ An Agency Order is the block-size order that an Order Flow 
Provider ``OFP'' seeks to facilitate as agent through the 
Facilitation Auction or Solicitation Auction mechanism,
    \7\ Facilitation and Solicitation Orders are the matching contra 
orders submitted on the opposite side of the Agency Order.

[[Page 54622]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           Account type
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Public       Professional
                                                     customer        customer     Broker  dealer   Market  maker
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agency Order....................................           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00
Facilitation Order or Solicitation Order........             N/A            0.00            0.00            0.00
Responses in the Solicitation or Facilitation               0.15            0.27            0.27            0.20
 Auction Mechanisms.............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For example, if a Market Maker submitted an Agency Order through 
the Facilitation mechanism, the Market Maker would no longer be charged 
for the Agency Order or matching contra order. To expand on this 
example, if the Market Maker instead was responding to the Facilitation 
Order, then the Market Maker would be charged $0.20.
    Consequently, the Exchange proposes to rename Section 1.B. from 
``Auction Transactions'' to ``PIP and COPIP Transactions'' as this 
section will now only reflect the Exchange fees for PIP and COPIP 
transactions. The Exchange is also proposing to amend the footnotes in 
the PIP and COPIP transactions subsection to remove any references to 
the Facilitation and Solicitation auction mechanisms.
    The Exchange then proposes to amend Section II.B of the BOX Fee 
Schedule, liquidity fees and credits for Facilitation and Solicitation 
transactions. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to establish 
different liquidity fees and credits for Facilitation and Solicitation 
transactions in Penny Pilot Classes than for Facilitation and 
Solicitation transactions in Non-Penny Pilot Classes. Currently all 
Facilitation and Solicitation transactions are assessed a $0.30 fee for 
adding liquidity and credited $0.30 for removing liquidity. The 
Exchange now proposes to adopt the following liquidity fees and 
credits:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Fee for  adding      Credit for  removing
            Facilitation and solicitation transactions                 liquidity  (all        liquidity  (all
                                                                        account types)         account types)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-Penny Pilot Classes...........................................                  $0.95                ($0.95)
Penny Pilot Classes...............................................                   0.40                 (0.40)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange also proposes to amend the Liquidity Fees and Credits 
for Facilitation and Solicitation transactions to specify that Agency 
Orders submitted to the Facilitation and Solicitation mechanisms are 
assessed the ``removal'' credit only if the Agency Order does not trade 
with their contra order. The Exchange also proposes to specify that 
only Responses to Facilitation and Solicitation Orders executed in 
these mechanisms shall be charged the ``add'' fee.
    For example, if an OFP submits an Agency Order to buy 200 contracts 
in the facilitation auction and there are no responders, the Agency 
Order would execute against the matching Facilitation Order to sell 200 
contracts and neither Order would be assessed a liquidity fee or 
credit. If, instead, the same Agency Order receives a Market Maker 
Response to sell 150 contracts, at the end of the auction the Agency 
Order would now execute against the Market Maker Response for 150 
contracts and the Facilitation Order for 50 contracts, and liquidity 
fees and credits would be assessed on the 150 contracts which executed 
against the Market Maker Response.
    The proposed reduction in exchange fees and increase in liquidity 
fees and credits in Facilitation and Solicitation transactions is 
designed to provide BOX Participants additional incentives to submit 
block orders to these auctions and to remain competitive with other 
options exchanges that have similar mechanisms for large block 
orders.\8\
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    \8\ See International Securities Exchange Rule 716.
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    Finally, the Exchange is proposing to make additional non-
substantive changes to the Fee Schedule. Specifically, the Exchange is 
renumbering certain footnotes, headings and internal references to 
accommodate the above proposed changes to the Fee Schedule.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the 
requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act, in general, and Section 
6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5)of the Act,\9\ in particular, in that it provides 
for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other 
charges among BOX Participants and other persons using its facilities 
and does not unfairly discriminate between customers, issuers, brokers 
or dealers. The proposed changes will allow the Exchange to be 
competitive with other exchanges and to apply fees and credits in a 
manner that is equitable among all BOX Participants. Further, the 
Exchange operates within a highly competitive market in which market 
participants can readily direct order flow to any other competing 
exchange if they determine fees at a particular exchange to be 
excessive.
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    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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    The Exchange believes creating a separate subsection for the 
Facilitation and Solicitation transactions is reasonable, equitable and 
not unfairly discriminatory as the proposed subsection is meant to 
provide clarity about the applicable exchange fees for each of BOX's 
auction mechanisms. The Exchange also believes that the proposed 
exchange fees for Facilitation and Solicitation transactions are 
reasonable, equitable and not unfairly discriminatory. The Exchange 
believes that it is reasonable to remove the fees for Agency, 
Facilitation and Solicitation Orders, and lower the Facilitation and 
Solicitation Order Response fees from $0.37 to $0.27 for Professional 
Customers and Broker Dealers, and from $0.30 to $0.20 for Market 
Makers. Further, the Exchange believes that it is reasonable to 
eliminate the $25,000 fee cap for Facilitation and Solicitation 
transactions, as most the exchange fees for these transactions are 
being removed. The Exchange believes eliminating and reducing these 
fees will attract order flow to these mechanisms which will result in 
greater liquidity and ultimately benefit all Participants trading on 
the Exchange.
    The Exchange believes it is reasonable, equitable and not-unfairly 
discriminatory to charge higher exchange fees for responders in the

[[Page 54623]]

Facilitation and Solicitation auctions than for initiators of these 
orders and the contra orders. The Exchange believes it is reasonable 
when compared to a similar practice for Facilitation and Solicitation 
fees at a competing venue.\10\ For example, at the ISE the fee for both 
the initiating order and contra order in a Crossing Order \11\ is $0.20 
for Market Makers, Broker Dealers and Professional Customers, and $0.00 
for Public Customers. Responses to these orders are charged $0.47 
regardless of Participant type.
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    \10\ See ISE Schedules of Fees at http://www.ise.com/assets/documents/OptionsExchange/legal/fee/ISE_fee_schedule.pdf.
    \11\ Under the ISE Fee Schedule Crossing Orders are any orders 
executed in the Exchange's auction mechanisms, including the 
Facilitation and Solicitation mechanisms.
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    The Exchange also believes that charging Professional Customers and 
Broker Dealers higher fees than Public Customers for Responses in the 
Facilitation and Solicitation auction mechanisms is equitable and not 
unfairly discriminatory. Professional Customers, while Public Customers 
by virtue of not being Broker Dealers, generally engage in trading 
activity more similar to Broker Dealer proprietary trading accounts. 
The Exchange believes that the higher level of trading activity from 
these Participants will draw a greater amount of BOX system resources, 
and the Exchange aims to recover its costs by assessing Professional 
Customers and Broker Dealers higher fees for these orders.
    The Exchange believes it is equitable and not unfairly 
discriminatory to charge Public Customers less than Market Makers, 
Broker Dealers and Professional Customers for their Responses to the 
Facilitation and Solicitation Auction mechanisms. The securities 
markets generally, and BOX in particular, have historically aimed to 
improve markets for investors and develop various features within the 
market structure for Public Customer benefit. The Exchange believes 
that charging lower fees to Public Customers is reasonable and, 
ultimately, will benefit all Participants trading on the Exchange by 
attracting Public Customer order flow.
    Finally, the Exchange believes it is equitable and not unfairly 
discriminatory for BOX Market Makers to be assessed lower fees than 
Professional Customers and Broker Dealers for Responses in the 
Facilitation and Solicitation auction mechanisms because of the 
significant contributions to overall market quality that Market Makers 
provide. Market Makers generally provide higher volumes of liquidity 
and assessing overall lower fees for these Participants within the BOX 
Fee Schedule will help attract a higher level of Market Maker order 
flow to the BOX Book and create liquidity, which the Exchange believes 
will ultimately benefit all Participants trading on BOX. Additionally, 
Market Makers are the Participants most likely to use the Facilitation 
and Solicitation auction mechanisms, and the Exchange believes that 
assessing lower fees for these Participants will help drive liquidity 
to these block trade mechanisms.
    BOX believes that the changes to Facilitation and Solicitation 
transaction liquidity fees and credits are equitable and not unfairly-
discriminatory in that they apply to all categories of participants and 
across all account types. The Exchange also believes the fees and 
credits are reasonable and competitive when compared to similar fees at 
competing venues.\12\ Under the ISE Fee Schedule a Responder to a 
Facilitation or Solicitation Order will pay $0.47. While a Responder on 
BOX will pay $0.55 to $0.67 in Penny Pilot Classes (exchange fee of 
$0.15 to $0.27 and an liquidity ``add'' fee of $0.40).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See supra, note 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    However, for the equivalent of Non-Penny Pilot Classes \13\ on ISE 
the Responder will most likely also be assessed a Payment for Order 
Flow (``PFOF'') Fee of $0.70. The Exchange notes that while PFOF at the 
ISE only applies when an Initiator is a Public Customer and a Responder 
is a Market Maker, this Exchange believes that this type of interaction 
amounts to a majority of the ISE's Facilitation and Solicitation 
transactions. Therefore, in Non-Penny Classes the Exchange believes the 
Responder to a Facilitation or Solicitation auction is paying $1.17 at 
the ISE, while BOX proposes to charge Responders between $1.10 and 
$1.22 (exchange fee of $0.15 to $0.27 and a liquidity ``add'' fee of 
$0.95). The Exchange notes that while Broker Dealers will be assessed 
$1.22 in total; a majority of the Responders to these auctions will be 
Market Makers and these Participants will be assessed $1.15 in total.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ The ISE Fee Schedule uses the term ``Select Symbols'' to 
denote Penny Pilot Classes.
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    With the proposed fee changes for Facilitation and Solicitation 
transactions, Initiators will never pay a fee and will only receive a 
credit of $0.40 in Penny Pilot Classes and $0.95 in Non-Penny Pilot 
Classes for the portion of the order that interacts with a Responder. 
In comparison, under the ISE Fee Schedule all Initiators except Public 
Customers are charged a $.20 fee for Penny Pilot Classes and $0.20 to 
$0.25 fee for Non-Penny Pilot Classes.\14\ However, the ISE then uses 
volume based incentives that can greatly reduce the fees these 
participants are charged. Certain Facilitation and Solicitation fees on 
ISE are subject to a fee cap of $75,000,\15\ allowing Participants who 
use these auctions to potentially reduce their per contract fee to a 
much lower rate. In addition, depending on their overall monthly 
volume, Initiators can receive a rebate of $0.05 to $0.11 per contract 
for their orders.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ The ISE uses the term ``Crossing Order'' for orders 
executed on the Exchange's Facilitation and Solicitation mechanisms.
    \15\ See Section IV.H of the ISE Fee Schedule. All Firm 
Proprietary and Non-ISE Market Maker transactions that are part of 
the originating or contra side of a Crossing Order are capped.
    \16\ See Section IV.A of the ISE Fee Schedule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, if the order executes against a responder within one of 
these mechanisms the Initiator will receive an additional rebate of 
$0.15 for Penny Pilot Classes. For Non-Penny Pilot Classes, the 
Initiator will typically receive a proportional PFOF credit to their 
pool which they can allocate as they so choose.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ Under Section IV.D of the ISE Fee Schedule the fee for PFOF 
is $0.70 and the fee will be rebated proportionally to the members 
that paid the fee on a monthly basis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In conclusion, the Exchange believes the proposed Facilitation and 
Solicitation fees and credits are reasonable when compared to fees and 
credits for similar mechanisms at the ISE. While it is difficult to 
exactly equate these two fee structures, most Responders on ISE (Market 
Makers interacting with Customer Orders) will pay $0.47 (Penny Pilot 
Classes) and $1.17 (Non-Penny Pilot Classes) while most Responders on 
BOX (Market Makers interacting with Customer Orders) will pay $0.60 
(Penny Pilot Classes) and $1.15 (Non-Penny Pilot Classes). At the ISE, 
depending on volume, Initiators in this scenario could receive a credit 
per contract for all Facilitation and Solicitation orders, and an 
additional $0.15 break up credit (Penny Pilot Classes) or PFOF credit 
(Non-Penny Pilot Classes).\18\ In comparison, under the BOX proposal, 
Initiators would only receive a credit for the portion of the order 
that interacted with a Response, and the credit would

[[Page 54624]]

be $0.40 (Penny Pilot Classes) or $0.95 (Non-Penny Pilot Classes).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ The Exchange notes that the language used in the ISE Fee 
Schedule states that there will be a proportional credit put into 
the monthly pool that the Initiator can then allocate. With this 
discretion the PFOF credit for these orders could be higher than 
$0.70.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, the Exchange believes that the proposed difference between 
what an Initiator will pay compared to what a Responder will pay is 
reasonable, equitable and not unfairly discriminatory. As stated above, 
this difference is in-line with the credits and fees at the ISE. 
Further, the Exchange believes that this differential is reasonable 
because Responders are willing to pay a higher fee for liquidity 
discovery.
    Further, the Exchange notes that with the proposed reduction in 
Responder exchange fees, all Responders except for Public Customers are 
only paying an overall higher fee for their Responses to Non-Penny 
Class transactions. For example, a Responder under the current schedule 
would be assessed an exchange fee of $0.37 (for Professional Customers 
and Broker Dealers) and $0.30 (for Market Makers) along with a fee for 
``adding'' liquidity of $0.30. In total, Professional Customers and 
Broker Dealers are currently assessed $0.67 and Market Makers $0.60. 
Under the proposed change to both the Exchange fees and Liquidity Fees 
and Credits, Professional Customers and Broker Dealers Responders would 
still be assessed $0.67 in total for Penny Pilot Classes ($0.27 
exchange fee and $0.40 liquidity fee) and Market Makers would be 
assessed $0.60 ($0.20 exchange and $0.40 liquidity fee). While 
Participants would be assessed overall higher fees for responding to 
Non-Penny Pilot Issues, as stated above, the Exchange believes that 
these liquidity fees are reasonable as they are within the range 
assessed for Facilitation and Solicitation responses at a competing 
exchange.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ See supra, note 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange also believes it is reasonable to establish different 
fees and credits for Facilitation and Solicitation transactions in 
Penny Pilot Classes compared to transactions in Non-Penny Pilot 
Classes. The Exchange makes this distinction throughout the BOX Fee 
Schedule, including the liquidity fees and credits for PIP and COPIP 
Transactions. The Exchange believes it is reasonable to establish 
higher fees and credits for Non-Penny Pilot Classes because these 
Classes are typically less actively traded and have wider spreads. The 
Exchange believes that offering a higher rebate will incentivize order 
flow in Non-Penny Pilot issues on the Exchange, ultimately benefitting 
all Participants trading on BOX.
    Further, the Exchange notes that the proposed fees and credits for 
transactions on BOX offset one another in any particular transaction. 
The result is that BOX will collect a fee from Participants that add 
liquidity on BOX and credit another Participant an equal amount for 
removing liquidity. Stated otherwise, the collection of these liquidity 
fees will not directly result in revenue to BOX, but will simply allow 
BOX to provide the credit incentive to Participants to attract order 
flow. The Exchange believes it is appropriate to provide incentives to 
market participants to use the Facilitation and Solicitation auction 
mechanisms, because doing so may result in greater liquidity on BOX 
which would benefit all market participants.
    The Exchange believes it is reasonable, equitable and not-unfairly 
discriminatory for responders to Facilitation and Solicitation auctions 
to be assessed higher fees than initiators. The Agency Order is a block 
sized order typically composed of Public Customer orders and 
represented by an OFP who then guarantees the execution by submitting a 
matching Facilitation or Solicitation Order. Responders in the 
Facilitation and Solicitation mechanisms are always non-Public 
Customers and more typically are Market Makers. The Exchange believes 
it is reasonable, equitable and not unfairly discriminatory to give 
these Agency Orders a credit when their orders execute against a non-
Public Customer and, accordingly, charge non-Public Customers a fee 
when their orders execute against a Public Customer. The Exchange notes 
that increasing fees to non-Public Customers in order to provide 
incentives for Public Customers is similar to the payment for order 
flow and other pricing models that have been adopted by competing 
exchanges \20\ to attract Public Customer order flow. As stated above, 
the Exchange aims to improve markets by developing features for the 
benefit of its Public Customers. The Exchange believes that providing 
incentives for Public Customers is reasonable and will benefit all 
Participants trading on the Exchange by attracting Public Customer 
order flow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ See supra, note 10. Under the ISE Fee Schedule, if the 
initiator is a Public Customer and the responder is a Market Maker 
in Non-Penny Pilot Classes, the Market Maker is assessed a $.70 PFOF 
fee which will be rebated proportionally to the members that paid 
the fee on a monthly basis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, the Exchange believes it is reasonable, equitable and not 
unfairly discriminatory to only assess liquidity fees and credits on 
Agency Orders that do not trade with their contra order, and the 
Responses to these Orders. As stated above, liquidity fees and credits 
are meant to incentivize order flow, and the Exchange believes 
incentives are not necessary for internalized orders in these 
mechanisms that only trade against their contra order. Additionally, 
other Exchanges also make this distinction in their Facilitation and 
Solicitation auction mechanisms.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ See supra, note 10. Under the ISE Fee Schedule in the 
equivalent of Penny Pilot Classes the initiator receives a ``break-
up'' rebate only for contracts that are submitted to the 
Facilitation and Solicitation mechanisms that do not trade with 
their contra order. The responder fee for these Orders is only 
applied to any contracts for which the rebate is provided.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, the Exchange notes that it operates in a highly 
competitive market in which market participants can readily favor 
competing exchanges. In such an environment, the Exchange must 
continually review, and consider adjusting, its fees and credits to 
remain competitive with other exchanges. For the reasons described 
above, the Exchange believes that the proposed rule change reflects 
this competitive environment.

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 proposed rule change modifies the exchange fees and raises the 
liquidity fees and credits for Facilitation and Solicitation 
transactions. BOX notes that its market model and fees are generally 
intended to benefit retail customers by providing incentives for 
Participants to submit their customer order flow to BOX. The Exchange 
does not believe that the proposed liquidity fees and credits will 
burden competition by creating such a disparity between the fees an 
Initiating Participant in the Facilitation and Solicitation auction 
pays and the fees a competitive responder pays that would result in 
certain Participants being unable to compete with initiators. In fact, 
the Exchange believes that these changes will not impair these 
Participants from adding liquidity and competing in Facilitation and 
Solicitation auction transactions and will help promote competition by 
providing incentives for market participants to submit customer order 
flow to BOX and thus, create a greater opportunity for customers to 
receive additional price improvement. Specifically, BOX is removing and 
lowering the exchange fees for Facilitation and Solicitation 
transactions to encourage all market participants to participate in 
these auctions. While the liquidity fees and

[[Page 54625]]

credits for these transactions will be higher, they will only be 
assessed against the portion of the order that executes against a 
response in the auctions. The Exchange believes that participants 
submitting responses in these auctions are willing to pay a higher fee 
for liquidity discovery in less liquid names. Further, as stated above 
the fees and credits proposed are in line with the facilitation and 
solicitation fees and credits on at least one other options exchange.
    BOX believes that this proposal will enhance competition between 
exchanges because it is designed to allow the Exchange to better 
compete with other exchanges for Facilitation and Solicitation auction 
order flow.

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

    No written comments were either solicited or 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 Exchange Act \22\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) 
thereunder,\23\ because it establishes or changes a due, or fee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \23\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend the rule 
change if it appears to the Commission that the action is necessary or 
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or 
would otherwise further 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.

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-BOX-2015-29 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities 
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-BOX-2015-29. 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-BOX-2015-29, and should be 
submitted on or before October 1, 2015.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\24\
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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[FR Doc. 2015-22741 Filed 9-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P



                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 175 / Thursday, September 10, 2015 / Notices                                                 54621

                                                  be submitted by any of the following                     SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                               proposed rule change. The text of these
                                                  methods:                                                 COMMISSION                                            statements may be examined at the
                                                  Electronic Comments                                                                                            places specified in Item IV below. The
                                                                                                           [Release No. 34–75826; File No. SR–BOX–
                                                                                                           2015–29]                                              Exchange has prepared summaries, set
                                                    • Use the Commission’s Internet                                                                              forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of
                                                  comment form (http://www.sec.gov/                                                                              the most significant aspects of such
                                                                                                           Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX
                                                  rules/sro.shtml); or
                                                    • Send an email to rule-comments@                      Options Exchange LLC; Notice of                       statements.
                                                  sec.gov. Please include File No. SR–                     Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of
                                                                                                           a Proposed Rule Change To Amend                       A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                  EDGX–2015–41 on the subject line.                                                                              Statement of the Purpose of, and
                                                                                                           the Fee Schedule on the BOX Market
                                                  Paper Comments                                           LLC Options Facility                                  Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
                                                                                                                                                                 Change
                                                     • Send paper comments in triplicate                   September 3, 2015.
                                                  to Secretary, Securities and Exchange                       Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the                1. Purpose
                                                  Commission, 100 F Street NE.,                            Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
                                                  Washington, DC 20549–1090.                                                                                        The Exchange proposes to make a
                                                                                                           ‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2                number of changes to Facilitation and
                                                  All submissions should refer to File No.                 notice is hereby given that on
                                                  SR–EDGX–2015–41. This file number                                                                              Solicitation fees and credits within the
                                                                                                           September 1, 2015, BOX Options
                                                  should be included on the subject line                                                                         BOX Fee Schedule.
                                                                                                           Exchange LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed
                                                  if email is used. To help the                            with the Securities and Exchange                         First, the Exchange proposes to
                                                  Commission process and review your                       Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the                       amend Section I (Exchange Fees) to
                                                  comments more efficiently, please use                    proposed rule change as described in                  establish a subsection entitled
                                                  only one method. The Commission will                     Items I, II, and III below, which Items               ‘‘Facilitation and Solicitation
                                                  post all comments on the Commission’s                    have been prepared by the Exchange.                   Transactions.’’ The Exchange proposes
                                                  Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/                   The Exchange filed the proposed rule                  to move all the fees associated with
                                                  rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the                          change pursuant to Section                            Facilitation and Solicitation
                                                  submission, all subsequent                               19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,3 and Rule                 Transactions 5 from Section I.B.
                                                  amendments, all written statements                       19b–4(f)(2) thereunder,4 which renders
                                                  with respect to the proposed rule                                                                              (Auction Transactions) to this new
                                                                                                           the proposal effective upon filing with               section.
                                                  change that are filed with the
                                                                                                           the Commission. The Commission is
                                                  Commission, and all written                                                                                       The Exchange then proposes to adjust
                                                                                                           publishing this notice to solicit
                                                  communications relating to the                                                                                 exchange fees for Facilitation and
                                                                                                           comments on the proposed rule change
                                                  proposed rule change between the                                                                               Solicitation Transactions. For Agency
                                                                                                           from interested persons.
                                                  Commission and any person, other than                                                                          Orders 6 Professional Customers and
                                                  those that may be withheld from the                      I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                     Brokers Dealers are currently charged
                                                  public in accordance with the                            Statement of the Terms of the Substance               $0.37 and Market Makers are charged
                                                  provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be                      of the Proposed Rule Change                           $0.20. Broker Dealers, Professional
                                                  available for Web site viewing and                          The Exchange is filing with the                    Customers, and Market Makers are
                                                  printing in the Commission’s Public                      Securities and Exchange Commission                    charged $0.25 for Facilitation and
                                                  Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,                        (‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change               Solicitation Orders.7 The Exchange
                                                  Washington, DC 20549, on official                        to amend the Fee Schedule on the BOX                  proposes to remove the Agency Order
                                                  business days between the hours of                       Market LLC (‘‘BOX’’) options facility.                and Facilitation and Solicitation Order
                                                  10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such                  While changes to the fee schedule
                                                  filing will also be available for                                                                              exchange fees for all Participants, as
                                                                                                           pursuant to this proposal will be                     well as the $25,000 fee cap for these
                                                  inspection and copying at the principal                  effective upon filing, the changes will
                                                  office of the Exchange. All comments                                                                           transactions. Additionally, the Exchange
                                                                                                           become operative on September 1, 2015.                proposes to reduce the exchange fees for
                                                  received will be posted without change;
                                                                                                           The text of the proposed rule change is               Responses to the Facilitation and
                                                  the Commission does not edit personal
                                                                                                           available from the principal office of the            Solicitation mechanisms. For Responses
                                                  identifying information from
                                                                                                           Exchange, at the Commission’s Public                  in these mechanisms, Public Customers
                                                  submissions. You should submit only
                                                                                                           Reference Room and also on the                        are currently charged $0.15,
                                                  information that you wish to make
                                                                                                           Exchange’s Internet Web site at http://               Professional Customer and Broker
                                                  available publicly. All submissions
                                                                                                           boxexchange.com.
                                                  should refer to File No. SR–EDGX–                                                                              Dealers are charged $0.37, and Market
                                                  2015–41 and should be submitted on or                    II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                    Makers are charged $0.30. The revised
                                                  before October 1, 2015.                                  Statement of the Purpose of, and                      fee structure for Facilitation and
                                                    For the Commission, by the Division of                 Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule                Solicitation Transactions will be as
                                                  Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated               Change                                                follows:
                                                  authority.24                                                In its filing with the Commission, the
                                                  Robert W. Errett,                                        Exchange included statements
                                                  Deputy Secretary.                                        concerning the purpose of and basis for
                                                  [FR Doc. 2015–22746 Filed 9–9–15; 8:45 am]               the proposed rule change and discussed
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                                                  BILLING CODE 8011–01–P                                   any comments it received on the


                                                    24 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                               5 Transactions executed through the Solicitation    agent through the Facilitation Auction or
                                                    1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).                                 Auction mechanism and Facilitation Auction            Solicitation Auction mechanism,
                                                    2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.                                    mechanism.                                              7 Facilitation and Solicitation Orders are the
                                                    3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).                            6 An Agency Order is the block-size order that an   matching contra orders submitted on the opposite
                                                    4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).                              Order Flow Provider ‘‘OFP’’ seeks to facilitate as    side of the Agency Order.



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                                                  54622                             Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 175 / Thursday, September 10, 2015 / Notices

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Account type

                                                                                                                                                                          Public              Professional           Broker             Market
                                                                                                                                                                         customer              customer              dealer             maker

                                                  Agency Order ...................................................................................................                $0.00               $0.00              $0.00               $0.00
                                                  Facilitation Order or Solicitation Order ............................................................                            N/A                 0.00               0.00                0.00
                                                  Responses in the Solicitation or Facilitation Auction Mechanisms .................                                               0.15                0.27               0.27                0.20



                                                    For example, if a Market Maker                                        only reflect the Exchange fees for PIP                               fees and credits for Facilitation and
                                                  submitted an Agency Order through the                                   and COPIP transactions. The Exchange                                 Solicitation transactions in Penny Pilot
                                                  Facilitation mechanism, the Market                                      is also proposing to amend the footnotes                             Classes than for Facilitation and
                                                  Maker would no longer be charged for                                    in the PIP and COPIP transactions                                    Solicitation transactions in Non-Penny
                                                  the Agency Order or matching contra                                     subsection to remove any references to                               Pilot Classes. Currently all Facilitation
                                                  order. To expand on this example, if the                                the Facilitation and Solicitation auction                            and Solicitation transactions are
                                                  Market Maker instead was responding to                                  mechanisms.                                                          assessed a $0.30 fee for adding liquidity
                                                  the Facilitation Order, then the Market                                    The Exchange then proposes to                                     and credited $0.30 for removing
                                                  Maker would be charged $0.20.                                           amend Section II.B of the BOX Fee                                    liquidity. The Exchange now proposes
                                                    Consequently, the Exchange proposes                                   Schedule, liquidity fees and credits for
                                                                                                                                                                                               to adopt the following liquidity fees and
                                                  to rename Section 1.B. from ‘‘Auction                                   Facilitation and Solicitation
                                                                                                                                                                                               credits:
                                                  Transactions’’ to ‘‘PIP and COPIP                                       transactions. Specifically, the Exchange
                                                  Transactions’’ as this section will now                                 proposes to establish different liquidity

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Fee for                       Credit for
                                                                                         Facilitation and solicitation transactions                                                              adding liquidity              removing liquidity
                                                                                                                                                                                               (all account types)            (all account types)

                                                  Non-Penny Pilot Classes .............................................................................................................                         $0.95                       ($0.95)
                                                  Penny Pilot Classes .....................................................................................................................                      0.40                        (0.40)



                                                     The Exchange also proposes to amend                                  and to remain competitive with other                                 fees at a particular exchange to be
                                                  the Liquidity Fees and Credits for                                      options exchanges that have similar                                  excessive.
                                                  Facilitation and Solicitation                                           mechanisms for large block orders.8                                     The Exchange believes creating a
                                                  transactions to specify that Agency                                       Finally, the Exchange is proposing to                              separate subsection for the Facilitation
                                                  Orders submitted to the Facilitation and                                make additional non-substantive                                      and Solicitation transactions is
                                                  Solicitation mechanisms are assessed                                    changes to the Fee Schedule.                                         reasonable, equitable and not unfairly
                                                  the ‘‘removal’’ credit only if the Agency                                                                                                    discriminatory as the proposed
                                                                                                                          Specifically, the Exchange is
                                                  Order does not trade with their contra                                                                                                       subsection is meant to provide clarity
                                                                                                                          renumbering certain footnotes, headings
                                                  order. The Exchange also proposes to                                                                                                         about the applicable exchange fees for
                                                                                                                          and internal references to accommodate
                                                  specify that only Responses to                                                                                                               each of BOX’s auction mechanisms. The
                                                  Facilitation and Solicitation Orders                                    the above proposed changes to the Fee
                                                                                                                          Schedule.                                                            Exchange also believes that the
                                                  executed in these mechanisms shall be                                                                                                        proposed exchange fees for Facilitation
                                                  charged the ‘‘add’’ fee.                                                2. Statutory Basis                                                   and Solicitation transactions are
                                                     For example, if an OFP submits an                                                                                                         reasonable, equitable and not unfairly
                                                  Agency Order to buy 200 contracts in                                       The Exchange believes that the                                    discriminatory. The Exchange believes
                                                  the facilitation auction and there are no                               proposal is consistent with the                                      that it is reasonable to remove the fees
                                                  responders, the Agency Order would                                      requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act,                             for Agency, Facilitation and Solicitation
                                                  execute against the matching                                            in general, and Section 6(b)(4) and                                  Orders, and lower the Facilitation and
                                                  Facilitation Order to sell 200 contracts                                6(b)(5)of the Act,9 in particular, in that                           Solicitation Order Response fees from
                                                  and neither Order would be assessed a                                   it provides for the equitable allocation                             $0.37 to $0.27 for Professional
                                                  liquidity fee or credit. If, instead, the                               of reasonable dues, fees, and other                                  Customers and Broker Dealers, and from
                                                  same Agency Order receives a Market                                     charges among BOX Participants and                                   $0.30 to $0.20 for Market Makers.
                                                  Maker Response to sell 150 contracts, at                                other persons using its facilities and                               Further, the Exchange believes that it is
                                                  the end of the auction the Agency Order                                 does not unfairly discriminate between                               reasonable to eliminate the $25,000 fee
                                                  would now execute against the Market                                    customers, issuers, brokers or dealers.                              cap for Facilitation and Solicitation
                                                  Maker Response for 150 contracts and                                    The proposed changes will allow the                                  transactions, as most the exchange fees
                                                  the Facilitation Order for 50 contracts,                                Exchange to be competitive with other                                for these transactions are being
                                                  and liquidity fees and credits would be                                 exchanges and to apply fees and credits                              removed. The Exchange believes
                                                  assessed on the 150 contracts which                                     in a manner that is equitable among all                              eliminating and reducing these fees will
                                                  executed against the Market Maker                                       BOX Participants. Further, the Exchange                              attract order flow to these mechanisms
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                                                  Response.                                                               operates within a highly competitive                                 which will result in greater liquidity
                                                     The proposed reduction in exchange                                   market in which market participants can                              and ultimately benefit all Participants
                                                  fees and increase in liquidity fees and                                 readily direct order flow to any other                               trading on the Exchange.
                                                  credits in Facilitation and Solicitation                                competing exchange if they determine                                    The Exchange believes it is
                                                  transactions is designed to provide BOX                                                                                                      reasonable, equitable and not-unfairly
                                                  Participants additional incentives to                                      8 See   International Securities Exchange Rule 716.               discriminatory to charge higher
                                                  submit block orders to these auctions                                      9 15   U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).                                  exchange fees for responders in the


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                                                                           Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 175 / Thursday, September 10, 2015 / Notices                                                      54623

                                                  Facilitation and Solicitation auctions                  generally provide higher volumes of                   ISE Fee Schedule all Initiators except
                                                  than for initiators of these orders and                 liquidity and assessing overall lower                 Public Customers are charged a $.20 fee
                                                  the contra orders. The Exchange                         fees for these Participants within the                for Penny Pilot Classes and $0.20 to
                                                  believes it is reasonable when compared                 BOX Fee Schedule will help attract a                  $0.25 fee for Non-Penny Pilot Classes.14
                                                  to a similar practice for Facilitation and              higher level of Market Maker order flow               However, the ISE then uses volume
                                                  Solicitation fees at a competing venue.10               to the BOX Book and create liquidity,                 based incentives that can greatly reduce
                                                  For example, at the ISE the fee for both                which the Exchange believes will                      the fees these participants are charged.
                                                  the initiating order and contra order in                ultimately benefit all Participants                   Certain Facilitation and Solicitation fees
                                                  a Crossing Order 11 is $0.20 for Market                 trading on BOX. Additionally, Market                  on ISE are subject to a fee cap of
                                                  Makers, Broker Dealers and Professional                 Makers are the Participants most likely               $75,000,15 allowing Participants who
                                                  Customers, and $0.00 for Public                         to use the Facilitation and Solicitation              use these auctions to potentially reduce
                                                  Customers. Responses to these orders                    auction mechanisms, and the Exchange                  their per contract fee to a much lower
                                                  are charged $0.47 regardless of                         believes that assessing lower fees for                rate. In addition, depending on their
                                                  Participant type.                                       these Participants will help drive                    overall monthly volume, Initiators can
                                                     The Exchange also believes that                      liquidity to these block trade                        receive a rebate of $0.05 to $0.11 per
                                                  charging Professional Customers and                     mechanisms.                                           contract for their orders.16
                                                  Broker Dealers higher fees than Public                     BOX believes that the changes to
                                                  Customers for Responses in the                          Facilitation and Solicitation transaction                Finally, if the order executes against
                                                  Facilitation and Solicitation auction                   liquidity fees and credits are equitable              a responder within one of these
                                                  mechanisms is equitable and not                         and not unfairly-discriminatory in that               mechanisms the Initiator will receive an
                                                  unfairly discriminatory. Professional                   they apply to all categories of                       additional rebate of $0.15 for Penny
                                                  Customers, while Public Customers by                    participants and across all account                   Pilot Classes. For Non-Penny Pilot
                                                  virtue of not being Broker Dealers,                     types. The Exchange also believes the                 Classes, the Initiator will typically
                                                  generally engage in trading activity                    fees and credits are reasonable and                   receive a proportional PFOF credit to
                                                  more similar to Broker Dealer                           competitive when compared to similar                  their pool which they can allocate as
                                                  proprietary trading accounts. The                       fees at competing venues.12 Under the                 they so choose.17
                                                  Exchange believes that the higher level                 ISE Fee Schedule a Responder to a                        In conclusion, the Exchange believes
                                                  of trading activity from these                          Facilitation or Solicitation Order will               the proposed Facilitation and
                                                  Participants will draw a greater amount                 pay $0.47. While a Responder on BOX                   Solicitation fees and credits are
                                                  of BOX system resources, and the                        will pay $0.55 to $0.67 in Penny Pilot                reasonable when compared to fees and
                                                  Exchange aims to recover its costs by                   Classes (exchange fee of $0.15 to $0.27               credits for similar mechanisms at the
                                                  assessing Professional Customers and                    and an liquidity ‘‘add’’ fee of $0.40).               ISE. While it is difficult to exactly
                                                  Broker Dealers higher fees for these                       However, for the equivalent of Non-                equate these two fee structures, most
                                                  orders.                                                 Penny Pilot Classes 13 on ISE the                     Responders on ISE (Market Makers
                                                     The Exchange believes it is equitable                Responder will most likely also be                    interacting with Customer Orders) will
                                                  and not unfairly discriminatory to                      assessed a Payment for Order Flow                     pay $0.47 (Penny Pilot Classes) and
                                                  charge Public Customers less than                       (‘‘PFOF’’) Fee of $0.70. The Exchange                 $1.17 (Non-Penny Pilot Classes) while
                                                  Market Makers, Broker Dealers and                       notes that while PFOF at the ISE only                 most Responders on BOX (Market
                                                  Professional Customers for their                        applies when an Initiator is a Public                 Makers interacting with Customer
                                                  Responses to the Facilitation and                       Customer and a Responder is a Market                  Orders) will pay $0.60 (Penny Pilot
                                                  Solicitation Auction mechanisms. The                    Maker, this Exchange believes that this
                                                  securities markets generally, and BOX                                                                         Classes) and $1.15 (Non-Penny Pilot
                                                                                                          type of interaction amounts to a                      Classes). At the ISE, depending on
                                                  in particular, have historically aimed to               majority of the ISE’s Facilitation and
                                                  improve markets for investors and                                                                             volume, Initiators in this scenario could
                                                                                                          Solicitation transactions. Therefore, in              receive a credit per contract for all
                                                  develop various features within the                     Non-Penny Classes the Exchange
                                                  market structure for Public Customer                                                                          Facilitation and Solicitation orders, and
                                                                                                          believes the Responder to a Facilitation              an additional $0.15 break up credit
                                                  benefit. The Exchange believes that                     or Solicitation auction is paying $1.17 at
                                                  charging lower fees to Public Customers                                                                       (Penny Pilot Classes) or PFOF credit
                                                                                                          the ISE, while BOX proposes to charge                 (Non-Penny Pilot Classes).18 In
                                                  is reasonable and, ultimately, will                     Responders between $1.10 and $1.22
                                                  benefit all Participants trading on the                                                                       comparison, under the BOX proposal,
                                                                                                          (exchange fee of $0.15 to $0.27 and a
                                                  Exchange by attracting Public Customer                                                                        Initiators would only receive a credit for
                                                                                                          liquidity ‘‘add’’ fee of $0.95). The
                                                  order flow.                                                                                                   the portion of the order that interacted
                                                                                                          Exchange notes that while Broker
                                                     Finally, the Exchange believes it is                                                                       with a Response, and the credit would
                                                                                                          Dealers will be assessed $1.22 in total;
                                                  equitable and not unfairly                              a majority of the Responders to these                    14 The ISE uses the term ‘‘Crossing Order’’ for
                                                  discriminatory for BOX Market Makers                    auctions will be Market Makers and                    orders executed on the Exchange’s Facilitation and
                                                  to be assessed lower fees than                          these Participants will be assessed $1.15             Solicitation mechanisms.
                                                  Professional Customers and Broker                       in total.                                                15 See Section IV.H of the ISE Fee Schedule. All
                                                  Dealers for Responses in the Facilitation                  With the proposed fee changes for                  Firm Proprietary and Non-ISE Market Maker
                                                  and Solicitation auction mechanisms                     Facilitation and Solicitation                         transactions that are part of the originating or contra
                                                  because of the significant contributions                                                                      side of a Crossing Order are capped.
                                                                                                          transactions, Initiators will never pay a                16 See Section IV.A of the ISE Fee Schedule.
                                                  to overall market quality that Market                   fee and will only receive a credit of                    17 Under Section IV.D of the ISE Fee Schedule the
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                                                  Makers provide. Market Makers                           $0.40 in Penny Pilot Classes and $0.95                fee for PFOF is $0.70 and the fee will be rebated
                                                                                                          in Non-Penny Pilot Classes for the                    proportionally to the members that paid the fee on
                                                    10 See ISE Schedules of Fees at http://                                                                     a monthly basis.
                                                                                                          portion of the order that interacts with
                                                  www.ise.com/assets/documents/OptionsExchange/                                                                    18 The Exchange notes that the language used in
                                                  legal/fee/ISE_fee_schedule.pdf.                         a Responder. In comparison, under the                 the ISE Fee Schedule states that there will be a
                                                    11 Under the ISE Fee Schedule Crossing Orders                                                               proportional credit put into the monthly pool that
                                                                                                            12 See
                                                                                                                 supra, note 10.
                                                  are any orders executed in the Exchange’s auction                                                             the Initiator can then allocate. With this discretion
                                                  mechanisms, including the Facilitation and                13 The
                                                                                                                 ISE Fee Schedule uses the term ‘‘Select        the PFOF credit for these orders could be higher
                                                  Solicitation mechanisms.                                Symbols’’ to denote Penny Pilot Classes.              than $0.70.



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                                                  54624                        Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 175 / Thursday, September 10, 2015 / Notices

                                                  be $0.40 (Penny Pilot Classes) or $0.95                   in any particular transaction. The result             Exchange believes incentives are not
                                                  (Non-Penny Pilot Classes).                                is that BOX will collect a fee from                   necessary for internalized orders in
                                                     Further, the Exchange believes that                    Participants that add liquidity on BOX                these mechanisms that only trade
                                                  the proposed difference between what                      and credit another Participant an equal               against their contra order. Additionally,
                                                  an Initiator will pay compared to what                    amount for removing liquidity. Stated                 other Exchanges also make this
                                                  a Responder will pay is reasonable,                       otherwise, the collection of these                    distinction in their Facilitation and
                                                  equitable and not unfairly                                liquidity fees will not directly result in            Solicitation auction mechanisms.21
                                                  discriminatory. As stated above, this                     revenue to BOX, but will simply allow                   Finally, the Exchange notes that it
                                                  difference is in-line with the credits and                BOX to provide the credit incentive to                operates in a highly competitive market
                                                  fees at the ISE. Further, the Exchange                    Participants to attract order flow. The               in which market participants can
                                                  believes that this differential is                        Exchange believes it is appropriate to                readily favor competing exchanges. In
                                                  reasonable because Responders are                         provide incentives to market                          such an environment, the Exchange
                                                  willing to pay a higher fee for liquidity                 participants to use the Facilitation and              must continually review, and consider
                                                  discovery.                                                Solicitation auction mechanisms,                      adjusting, its fees and credits to remain
                                                     Further, the Exchange notes that with                  because doing so may result in greater                competitive with other exchanges. For
                                                  the proposed reduction in Responder                       liquidity on BOX which would benefit                  the reasons described above, the
                                                  exchange fees, all Responders except for                  all market participants.                              Exchange believes that the proposed
                                                  Public Customers are only paying an                          The Exchange believes it is                        rule change reflects this competitive
                                                  overall higher fee for their Responses to                 reasonable, equitable and not-unfairly                environment.
                                                  Non-Penny Class transactions. For                         discriminatory for responders to
                                                  example, a Responder under the current                    Facilitation and Solicitation auctions to             B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                  schedule would be assessed an                             be assessed higher fees than initiators.              Statement on Burden on Competition
                                                  exchange fee of $0.37 (for Professional                   The Agency Order is a block sized order                  The Exchange does not believe that
                                                  Customers and Broker Dealers) and                         typically composed of Public Customer                 the proposed rule change will impose
                                                  $0.30 (for Market Makers) along with a                    orders and represented by an OFP who                  any burden on competition not
                                                  fee for ‘‘adding’’ liquidity of $0.30. In                 then guarantees the execution by                      necessary or appropriate in furtherance
                                                  total, Professional Customers and Broker                  submitting a matching Facilitation or                 of the purposes of the Act.
                                                  Dealers are currently assessed $0.67 and                  Solicitation Order. Responders in the                    The proposed rule change modifies
                                                  Market Makers $0.60. Under the                            Facilitation and Solicitation                         the exchange fees and raises the
                                                  proposed change to both the Exchange                      mechanisms are always non-Public                      liquidity fees and credits for Facilitation
                                                  fees and Liquidity Fees and Credits,                      Customers and more typically are                      and Solicitation transactions. BOX notes
                                                  Professional Customers and Broker                         Market Makers. The Exchange believes                  that its market model and fees are
                                                  Dealers Responders would still be                         it is reasonable, equitable and not                   generally intended to benefit retail
                                                  assessed $0.67 in total for Penny Pilot                   unfairly discriminatory to give these                 customers by providing incentives for
                                                  Classes ($0.27 exchange fee and $0.40                     Agency Orders a credit when their                     Participants to submit their customer
                                                  liquidity fee) and Market Makers would                    orders execute against a non-Public                   order flow to BOX. The Exchange does
                                                  be assessed $0.60 ($0.20 exchange and                     Customer and, accordingly, charge non-                not believe that the proposed liquidity
                                                  $0.40 liquidity fee). While Participants                  Public Customers a fee when their                     fees and credits will burden competition
                                                  would be assessed overall higher fees                     orders execute against a Public                       by creating such a disparity between the
                                                  for responding to Non-Penny Pilot                         Customer. The Exchange notes that                     fees an Initiating Participant in the
                                                  Issues, as stated above, the Exchange                     increasing fees to non-Public Customers               Facilitation and Solicitation auction
                                                  believes that these liquidity fees are                    in order to provide incentives for Public             pays and the fees a competitive
                                                  reasonable as they are within the range                   Customers is similar to the payment for               responder pays that would result in
                                                  assessed for Facilitation and Solicitation                order flow and other pricing models that              certain Participants being unable to
                                                  responses at a competing exchange.19                      have been adopted by competing                        compete with initiators. In fact, the
                                                     The Exchange also believes it is                       exchanges 20 to attract Public Customer               Exchange believes that these changes
                                                  reasonable to establish different fees and                order flow. As stated above, the                      will not impair these Participants from
                                                  credits for Facilitation and Solicitation                 Exchange aims to improve markets by                   adding liquidity and competing in
                                                  transactions in Penny Pilot Classes                       developing features for the benefit of its            Facilitation and Solicitation auction
                                                  compared to transactions in Non-Penny                     Public Customers. The Exchange                        transactions and will help promote
                                                  Pilot Classes. The Exchange makes this                    believes that providing incentives for                competition by providing incentives for
                                                  distinction throughout the BOX Fee                        Public Customers is reasonable and will               market participants to submit customer
                                                  Schedule, including the liquidity fees                    benefit all Participants trading on the               order flow to BOX and thus, create a
                                                  and credits for PIP and COPIP                             Exchange by attracting Public Customer                greater opportunity for customers to
                                                  Transactions. The Exchange believes it                    order flow.                                           receive additional price improvement.
                                                  is reasonable to establish higher fees                       Further, the Exchange believes it is               Specifically, BOX is removing and
                                                  and credits for Non-Penny Pilot Classes                   reasonable, equitable and not unfairly                lowering the exchange fees for
                                                  because these Classes are typically less                  discriminatory to only assess liquidity               Facilitation and Solicitation
                                                  actively traded and have wider spreads.                   fees and credits on Agency Orders that                transactions to encourage all market
                                                  The Exchange believes that offering a                     do not trade with their contra order, and             participants to participate in these
                                                  higher rebate will incentivize order flow                 the Responses to these Orders. As stated              auctions. While the liquidity fees and
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                                                  in Non-Penny Pilot issues on the                          above, liquidity fees and credits are
                                                  Exchange, ultimately benefitting all                      meant to incentivize order flow, and the                21 See supra, note 10. Under the ISE Fee Schedule

                                                  Participants trading on BOX.                                                                                    in the equivalent of Penny Pilot Classes the initiator
                                                     Further, the Exchange notes that the                     20 See supra, note 10. Under the ISE Fee            receives a ‘‘break-up’’ rebate only for contracts that
                                                  proposed fees and credits for                             Schedule, if the initiator is a Public Customer and   are submitted to the Facilitation and Solicitation
                                                                                                            the responder is a Market Maker in Non-Penny Pilot    mechanisms that do not trade with their contra
                                                  transactions on BOX offset one another                    Classes, the Market Maker is assessed a $.70 PFOF     order. The responder fee for these Orders is only
                                                                                                            fee which will be rebated proportionally to the       applied to any contracts for which the rebate is
                                                    19 See   supra, note 10.                                members that paid the fee on a monthly basis.         provided.



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                                                                                Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 175 / Thursday, September 10, 2015 / Notices                                          54625

                                                  credits for these transactions will be                     Paper Comments                                         SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
                                                  higher, they will only be assessed                                                                                COMMISSION
                                                  against the portion of the order that                         • Send paper comments in triplicate
                                                                                                             to Secretary, Securities and Exchange                  [Release No. 34–75828; File No. SR–BOX–
                                                  executes against a response in the                                                                                2015–30]
                                                  auctions. The Exchange believes that                       Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
                                                  participants submitting responses in                       Washington, DC 20549–1090.                             Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX
                                                  these auctions are willing to pay a                        All submissions should refer to File                   Options Exchange LLC; Notice of
                                                  higher fee for liquidity discovery in less                 Number SR–BOX–2015–29. This file                       Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of
                                                  liquid names. Further, as stated above                     number should be included on the                       a Proposed Rule Change To Amend
                                                  the fees and credits proposed are in line                  subject line if email is used. To help the             the Fee Schedule on the BOX Market
                                                  with the facilitation and solicitation fees                Commission process and review your                     LLC Options Facility
                                                  and credits on at least one other options                  comments more efficiently, please use
                                                  exchange.                                                                                                         September 3, 2015.
                                                                                                             only one method. The Commission will
                                                     BOX believes that this proposal will                                                                              Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
                                                                                                             post all comments on the Commission’s                  Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
                                                  enhance competition between
                                                                                                             Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/                 ‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
                                                  exchanges because it is designed to
                                                  allow the Exchange to better compete                       rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the                        notice is hereby given that on
                                                  with other exchanges for Facilitation                      submission, all subsequent                             September 1, 2015, BOX Options
                                                  and Solicitation auction order flow.                       amendments, all written statements                     Exchange LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed
                                                                                                             with respect to the proposed rule                      with the Securities and Exchange
                                                  C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                          change that are filed with the                         Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
                                                  Statement on Comments on the                               Commission, and all written                            proposed rule change as described in
                                                  Proposed Rule Change Received From                         communications relating to the                         Items I, II, and III below, which Items
                                                  Members, Participants, or Others                           proposed rule change between the                       have been prepared by the Exchange.
                                                    No written comments were either                          Commission and any person, other than                  The Exchange filed the proposed rule
                                                  solicited or received.                                     those that may be withheld from the                    change pursuant to Section
                                                  III. Date of Effectiveness of the                          public in accordance with the                          19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,3 and Rule
                                                  Proposed Rule Change and Timing for                        provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be                    19b–4(f)(2) thereunder,4 which renders
                                                  Commission Action                                          available for Web site viewing and                     the proposal effective upon filing with
                                                                                                             printing in the Commission’s Public                    the Commission. The Commission is
                                                     The foregoing rule change has become                    Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,                      publishing this notice to solicit
                                                  effective pursuant to Section                                                                                     comments on the proposed rule change
                                                                                                             Washington, DC 20549 on official
                                                  19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Exchange Act 22                                                                            from interested persons.
                                                                                                             business days between the hours of
                                                  and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) thereunder,23
                                                                                                             10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such                I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                  because it establishes or changes a due,
                                                  or fee.                                                    filing also will be available for                      Statement of the Terms of the Substance
                                                     At any time within 60 days of the                       inspection and copying at the principal                of the Proposed Rule Change
                                                  filing of the proposed rule change, the                    office of the Exchange. All comments                      The Exchange is filing with the
                                                  Commission summarily may                                   received will be posted without change;                Securities and Exchange Commission
                                                  temporarily suspend the rule change if                     the Commission does not edit personal                  (‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change
                                                  it appears to the Commission that the                      identifying information from                           to amend the Fee Schedule on the BOX
                                                  action is necessary or appropriate in the                  submissions. You should submit only                    Market LLC (‘‘BOX’’) options facility.
                                                  public interest, for the protection of                     information that you wish to make                      While changes to the fee schedule
                                                  investors, or would otherwise further                      available publicly. All submissions                    pursuant to this proposal will be
                                                  the purposes of the Act. If the                            should refer to File Number SR–BOX–                    effective upon filing, the changes will
                                                  Commission takes such action, the                          2015–29, and should be submitted on or                 become operative on September 1, 2015.
                                                  Commission shall institute proceedings                     before October 1, 2015.                                The text of the proposed rule change is
                                                  to determine whether the proposed rule                       For the Commission, by the Division of               available from the principal office of the
                                                  should be approved or disapproved.                         Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated             Exchange, at the Commission’s Public
                                                  IV. Solicitation of Comments                               authority.24                                           Reference Room and also on the
                                                                                                                                                                    Exchange’s Internet Web site at http://
                                                    Interested persons are invited to                        Robert W. Errett,
                                                                                                                                                                    boxexchange.com.
                                                  submit written data, views, and                            Deputy Secretary.
                                                  arguments concerning the foregoing,                        [FR Doc. 2015–22741 Filed 9–9–15; 8:45 am]             II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                  including whether the proposed rule                                                                               Statement of the Purpose of, and
                                                                                                             BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
                                                  change is consistent with the Act.                                                                                Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
                                                  Comments may be submitted by any of                                                                               Change
                                                  the following methods:                                                                                               In its filing with the Commission, the
                                                                                                                                                                    Exchange included statements
                                                  Electronic Comments
                                                                                                                                                                    concerning the purpose of and basis for
                                                    • Use the Commission’s Internet                                                                                 the proposed rule change and discussed
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                  comment form (http://www.sec.gov/                                                                                 any comments it received on the
                                                  rules/sro.shtml); or                                                                                              proposed rule change. The text of these
                                                    • Send an email to rule-comments@                                                                               statements may be examined at the
                                                  sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
                                                  BOX–2015–29 on the subject line.                                                                                    1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                                                                                                                                      2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
                                                    22 15   U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).                                                                                  3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
                                                    23 17   CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).                               24 17   CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                           4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).




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Document Created: 2015-12-15 10:04:30
Document Modified: 2015-12-15 10:04:30
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
FR Citation80 FR 54621 

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