80_FR_64243 80 FR 64039 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Amendment No. 1 and Order Granting Accelerated Approval to a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, To Require an Indicator When a TRACE Report Does Not Reflect a Commission or Mark-up/Mark-down

80 FR 64039 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Amendment No. 1 and Order Granting Accelerated Approval to a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, To Require an Indicator When a TRACE Report Does Not Reflect a Commission or Mark-up/Mark-down

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 204 (October 22, 2015)

Page Range64039-64041
FR Document2015-26808

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 204 (Thursday, October 22, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 204 (Thursday, October 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64039-64041]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26808]



[[Page 64039]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-76176; File No. SR-FINRA-2015-026]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority, Inc.; Notice of Amendment No. 1 and Order Granting 
Accelerated Approval to a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by 
Amendment No. 1, To Require an Indicator When a TRACE Report Does Not 
Reflect a Commission or Mark-up/Mark-down

October 16, 2015.

I. Introduction

    On July 20, 2015, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 
(``FINRA'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission''), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ a 
proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 6730, which governs the 
reporting of eligible transactions to its Trade Reporting and 
Compliance Engine (``TRACE''). The proposed rule change was published 
for comment in the Federal Register on August 7, 2015.\3\ The 
Commission received two comment letters on the proposed rule change.\4\ 
On September 10, 2015, the Commission extended the time to act on the 
proposal until November 5, 2015.\5\ On October 6, 2015, FINRA filed 
Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change.\6\ The Commission is 
publishing this Notice and Order to solicit comment on Amendment No. 1 
and to approve the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 
1, on an accelerated basis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 75588 (August 3, 
2015), 80 FR 47546 (August 7, 2015) (``Notice'').
    \4\ See letter from Sean Davy, Managing Director, SIFMA, to 
Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Commission, dated August 27, 2015 
(``SIFMA Letter''); letter from Michael Nicholas, Chief Executive 
Officer, Bond Dealers of America, to Secretary, Commission, dated 
August 28, 2015 (``BDA Letter'').
    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 75875, 80 FR 55671 
(September 16, 2015).
    \6\ Amendment No. 1 revised the proposal to include three 
exceptions to the requirement that members append the ``no 
remuneration'' indicator to trade reports that do not reflect either 
a commission or mark-up/mark-down, for: (i) List or Fixed Offering 
Price Transactions, (ii) Takedown Transactions, and (iii) inter-
dealer transactions. Amendment No. 1 is available in the public 
comment file for SR-FINRA-2015-026 on the Commission's Web site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Description of the Proposal

    FINRA Rule 6730 (Transaction Reporting) sets forth the requirements 
applicable to members reporting transactions in TRACE-Eligible 
Securities,\7\ and provides the specific items of information that must 
be included in a TRACE trade report. Rules 6730(c) and (d) require a 
member firm to report the commission (total dollar amount) separately 
on the TRACE trade report for an agency transaction. FINRA combines the 
dollar amount that is reported as the commission with the amount that 
is reported in the price field, and disseminates to the market this 
aggregate amount as the transaction's price. For a principal 
transaction, Rule 6730(d)(1) provides that a firm must report a price 
that includes the mark-up/mark-down, and FINRA disseminates this price 
to the market. FINRA notes that the goal of these reporting 
requirements is to provide investors and market participants with 
pricing information that better reflects comparable prices for 
principal and agency trades in a TRACE-Eligible Security.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ See FINRA Rule 6710 (defining ``TRACE-Eligible Security''). 
Most transactions reported to TRACE are publicly disseminated 
immediately upon receipt of a transaction report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    FINRA believes that the pricing information currently being 
disseminated might be incomplete and in some cases misleading, given 
that disseminated prices on transactions that do not include 
remuneration are not distinguished from transactions that do include a 
commission or mark-up/mark-down. This proposal is designed to provide 
more meaningful pricing transparency through TRACE by identifying any 
transaction where a commission or mark-up/mark-down was not charged or 
known at the time of TRACE reporting.
    The proposal amends Rule 6730 to require a member firm to identify 
any transactions for which a commission or mark-up/mark-down is not 
reflected in the TRACE trade report because the firm does not charge, 
or does not know the amount of, the commission or mark-up/mark-down at 
the time of TRACE reporting. For example, a firm might assess a charge 
that is not transaction-based, as in the case of a ``fee-based 
account'' where remuneration is based upon assets under management (and 
individual commissions or mark-ups/mark-downs are not charged).\8\ 
Thus, for such transactions, the price is not inclusive of a commission 
or mark-up/mark-down. In another case, a firm might charge a commission 
or mark-up/mark-down, but might not know the exact amount of that 
commission or mark-up/mark-down at the time that the TRACE transaction 
report is required to be submitted because of their remuneration 
structure (e.g., a firm might not calculate a mark-up for a transaction 
on a trade-by-trade basis, but could nonetheless ultimately assess 
transaction remuneration pursuant to a monthly volume-based 
schedule).\9\ The proposal requires a firm to identify all such trades 
for which the firm does not charge or does not know the amount of the 
commission or mark-up/market-down at the time of TRACE reporting. In 
addition, if a firm does not charge any remuneration associated with 
the trade (in any form), it would be required to identify the trade as 
one for which no remuneration was assessed to the transaction. FINRA 
will flag these disseminated transactions as not being inclusive of 
remuneration. Based on current rules, the disseminated TRACE feed will 
not explicitly distinguish between agency and principal transactions, 
and the ``no remuneration'' flag will apply to both principal and 
agency transactions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ Another example of a fee structure that is not transaction-
based is where an alternative trading system (``ATS'') charges 
subscribers a fixed fee for unlimited trading each month. See 
Notice, 80 FR at 47547.
    \9\ FINRA states that, as a practical matter, firms have 
difficulty complying with the current TRACE rules for these types of 
volume-based mark-up/mark-down arrangements, since they are unable 
to report accurately all the required information related to the 
transaction on a timely basis and would need to submit a cancel and 
replace to update the pricing information. In some cases, this 
information might not be known until the end of the month. See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    FINRA believes that, in addition to improving transparency for 
disseminated prices, this proposal will enhance its regulatory audit 
trail and surveillance patterns. With this additional level of detail, 
surveillance patterns should yield fewer false positives regarding 
mark-up and best execution surveillance, reduce regulatory inquiries, 
and provide greater focus for FINRA's regulatory efforts. FINRA has 
represented, for example, that without the ``no remuneration'' 
designation FINRA's surveillance patterns for best execution might 
generate alerts for transactions whose prices reflect a commission or a 
mark-up as being outliers compared to transactions whose prices do not 
reflect a charge.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See Notice, 80 FR at 47548.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    FINRA plans to implement the proposal on May 23, 2016.

III. Summary of Comments and Amendment No. 1

    As noted above, the Commission received two comment letters on the

[[Page 64040]]

proposal.\11\ The SIFMA Letter generally supports the proposal. 
However, SIFMA believes that the requirement to report trades involving 
no remuneration should be limited to customer trades and should not 
apply to dealer-to-dealer trades, consistent with SR-MSRB-2015-02.\12\ 
The BDA Letter also supports the proposal but recommends that the 
proposed reporting requirement extend only to customer trades, 
consistent with MSRB Rule G-14.\13\ The BDA Letter expresses concern 
with how the proposed requirement would affect smaller introducing 
dealers and dealers already having difficulty with trade reporting 
deadlines under current rules, particularly if the requirement applies 
to inter-dealer transactions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See supra note 4.
    \12\ See SIFMA Letter at 1. See also Securities Exchange Act 
Release No. 75039 (May 22, 2015), 80 FR 31084 (June 1, 2015) (SR-
MSRB-2015-02) (approving an MSRB proposal to, among other things, 
require dealers to include a new indicator on their trade reports 
that would be disseminated publicly to distinguish customer 
transactions that do not include a dealer compensation component and 
those that include a markup, mark-down, or a commission) (``MSRB 
Order'').
    \13\ See BDA Letter at 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In response to commenters' concerns, FINRA proposed in Amendment 
No. 1 to provide an exception to the proposed ``no remuneration'' 
requirement for inter-dealer transactions. FINRA notes that this change 
would further align the proposal with the comparable MSRB rule, as 
requested by the commenters.\14\ FINRA believes that, given that inter-
dealer transactions typically do not involve remuneration, excluding 
such transactions from the requirement better focuses the use of the 
indicator on the types of transactions that would provide the 
additional price transparency sought by the proposal, which are 
transactions between dealers and customers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ The MSRB's rule limits the use of its ``non-transaction-
based compensation arrangement indicator'' to transactions with 
customers. See MSRB Order, 80 FR at 31085.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Also in Amendment No. 1, FINRA proposed to add exceptions from the 
``no remuneration'' indicator requirement for List or Fixed Offering 
Price Transactions, as defined in FINRA Rule 6710(q), and Takedown 
Transactions, as defined in FINRA Rule 6710(r). These transactions are 
not currently subject to dissemination; FINRA believes, therefore, that 
applying the ``no remuneration'' indicator to these transactions would 
not provide additional transparency to the market.

IV. Discussion and Commission Findings

    After careful review of the proposal and comments submitted, the 
Commission finds that the proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, is 
consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and 
regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities 
association.\15\ In particular, the Commission finds that the proposed 
rule change is consistent with Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act,\16\ which 
requires, among other things, that FINRA's rules be designed to prevent 
fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and 
equitable principles of trade, and, in general, to protect investors 
and the public interest. The Commission also finds the proposal 
consistent with Section 15A(b)(9) of the Act,\17\ which requires that 
FINRA's rules not impose any burden on competition that is not 
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The 
Commission notes that it previously has approved a similar proposed 
rule change of the MSRB.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ In approving this proposed rule change, the Commission has 
considered the proposed rule's impact on efficiency, competition, 
and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
    \16\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(6).
    \17\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(9).
    \18\ See MSRB Order, 80 FR at 31086-87.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission believes that the proposed rule change is reasonably 
designed to improve transparency of disseminated TRACE trade reports by 
requiring firms to indicate when the trade report does not include a 
commission or mark-up/mark-down. Use of a ``no remuneration'' indicator 
will make investors better able to assess disseminated transaction 
prices. Finally, the Commission believes that it is reasonable and 
consistent with the Act for FINRA to provide exceptions to this 
requirement for inter-dealer transactions, which do not typically have 
remuneration, and for List or Fixed Offering Price and Takedown 
Transactions, for which there currently is no TRACE dissemination of 
the transaction information.
    Therefore, the Commission finds that the proposed rule change, as 
modified by Amendment No. 1, is consistent with the Act.

V. Accelerated Approval of Proposal, as Modified by Amendment No. 1

    The Commission finds good cause, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of 
the Exchange Act \19\ for approving the proposal, as modified by 
Amendment No. 1, prior to the 30th day after publication of Amendment 
No. 1 in the Federal Register.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    Amendment No. 1 revised the proposal to include limited exceptions 
to the proposed ``no remuneration'' indicator requirement. The 
Commission believes that Amendment No. 1 does not raise any novel 
regulatory issues because these exceptions are measured and do not 
appear to impose any undue burdens on affected persons.
    Accordingly, the Commission finds that good cause exists to approve 
the proposal, as modified by Amendment No. 1, on an accelerated basis.

VI. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether Amendment No. 1 
to 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 rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-FINRA-2015-026 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

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

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-FINRA-2015-026. 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 offices of FINRA. 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

[[Page 64041]]

should refer to File Number SR-FINRA-2015-026, and should be submitted 
on or before November 12, 2015.

VII. Conclusion

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the 
Act,\20\ that the proposed rule change (SR-FINRA-2015-026), as modified 
by Amendment No. 1, be, and hereby is, approved on an accelerated 
basis.
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    \20\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
    \21\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\21\
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-26808 Filed 10-21-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P



                                                                          Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 204 / Thursday, October 22, 2015 / Notices                                                    64039

                                              SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                                 applicable to members reporting                        mark-down, but might not know the
                                              COMMISSION                                              transactions in TRACE-Eligible                         exact amount of that commission or
                                                                                                      Securities,7 and provides the specific                 mark-up/mark-down at the time that the
                                              [Release No. 34–76176; File No. SR–FINRA–
                                              2015–026]
                                                                                                      items of information that must be                      TRACE transaction report is required to
                                                                                                      included in a TRACE trade report. Rules                be submitted because of their
                                              Self-Regulatory Organizations;                          6730(c) and (d) require a member firm                  remuneration structure (e.g., a firm
                                              Financial Industry Regulatory                           to report the commission (total dollar                 might not calculate a mark-up for a
                                              Authority, Inc.; Notice of Amendment                    amount) separately on the TRACE trade                  transaction on a trade-by-trade basis, but
                                              No. 1 and Order Granting Accelerated                    report for an agency transaction. FINRA                could nonetheless ultimately assess
                                              Approval to a Proposed Rule Change,                     combines the dollar amount that is                     transaction remuneration pursuant to a
                                              as Modified by Amendment No. 1, To                      reported as the commission with the                    monthly volume-based schedule).9 The
                                              Require an Indicator When a TRACE                       amount that is reported in the price                   proposal requires a firm to identify all
                                              Report Does Not Reflect a Commission                    field, and disseminates to the market                  such trades for which the firm does not
                                              or Mark-up/Mark-down                                    this aggregate amount as the                           charge or does not know the amount of
                                                                                                      transaction’s price. For a principal                   the commission or mark-up/market-
                                              October 16, 2015.                                       transaction, Rule 6730(d)(1) provides                  down at the time of TRACE reporting.
                                              I. Introduction                                         that a firm must report a price that                   In addition, if a firm does not charge
                                                                                                      includes the mark-up/mark-down, and                    any remuneration associated with the
                                                 On July 20, 2015, Financial Industry                 FINRA disseminates this price to the                   trade (in any form), it would be required
                                              Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’)                  market. FINRA notes that the goal of                   to identify the trade as one for which no
                                              filed with the Securities and Exchange                  these reporting requirements is to                     remuneration was assessed to the
                                              Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant                   provide investors and market                           transaction. FINRA will flag these
                                              to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities                   participants with pricing information                  disseminated transactions as not being
                                              Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule               that better reflects comparable prices for             inclusive of remuneration. Based on
                                              19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule                      principal and agency trades in a                       current rules, the disseminated TRACE
                                              change to amend FINRA Rule 6730,                        TRACE-Eligible Security.                               feed will not explicitly distinguish
                                              which governs the reporting of eligible                    FINRA believes that the pricing                     between agency and principal
                                              transactions to its Trade Reporting and                 information currently being                            transactions, and the ‘‘no remuneration’’
                                              Compliance Engine (‘‘TRACE’’). The                      disseminated might be incomplete and                   flag will apply to both principal and
                                              proposed rule change was published for                  in some cases misleading, given that                   agency transactions.
                                              comment in the Federal Register on                      disseminated prices on transactions that
                                              August 7, 2015.3 The Commission                         do not include remuneration are not                       FINRA believes that, in addition to
                                              received two comment letters on the                     distinguished from transactions that do                improving transparency for
                                              proposed rule change.4 On September                     include a commission or mark-up/mark-                  disseminated prices, this proposal will
                                              10, 2015, the Commission extended the                   down. This proposal is designed to                     enhance its regulatory audit trail and
                                              time to act on the proposal until                       provide more meaningful pricing                        surveillance patterns. With this
                                              November 5, 2015.5 On October 6, 2015,                  transparency through TRACE by                          additional level of detail, surveillance
                                              FINRA filed Amendment No. 1 to the                      identifying any transaction where a                    patterns should yield fewer false
                                              proposed rule change.6 The Commission                   commission or mark-up/mark-down was                    positives regarding mark-up and best
                                              is publishing this Notice and Order to                  not charged or known at the time of                    execution surveillance, reduce
                                              solicit comment on Amendment No. 1                      TRACE reporting.                                       regulatory inquiries, and provide greater
                                              and to approve the proposed rule                           The proposal amends Rule 6730 to                    focus for FINRA’s regulatory efforts.
                                              change, as modified by Amendment No.                    require a member firm to identify any                  FINRA has represented, for example,
                                              1, on an accelerated basis.                             transactions for which a commission or                 that without the ‘‘no remuneration’’
                                                                                                      mark-up/mark-down is not reflected in                  designation FINRA’s surveillance
                                              II. Description of the Proposal                                                                                patterns for best execution might
                                                                                                      the TRACE trade report because the firm
                                                 FINRA Rule 6730 (Transaction                         does not charge, or does not know the                  generate alerts for transactions whose
                                              Reporting) sets forth the requirements                  amount of, the commission or mark-up/                  prices reflect a commission or a mark-
                                                                                                      mark-down at the time of TRACE                         up as being outliers compared to
                                                1 15  U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                                                                      reporting. For example, a firm might                   transactions whose prices do not reflect
                                                2 17  CFR 240.19b–4.
                                                                                                      assess a charge that is not transaction-               a charge.10
                                                 3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 75588

                                              (August 3, 2015), 80 FR 47546 (August 7, 2015)          based, as in the case of a ‘‘fee-based                    FINRA plans to implement the
                                              (‘‘Notice’’).                                           account’’ where remuneration is based                  proposal on May 23, 2016.
                                                 4 See letter from Sean Davy, Managing Director,
                                                                                                      upon assets under management (and
                                              SIFMA, to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary,                                                                      III. Summary of Comments and
                                                                                                      individual commissions or mark-ups/
                                              Commission, dated August 27, 2015 (‘‘SIFMA                                                                     Amendment No. 1
                                              Letter’’); letter from Michael Nicholas, Chief          mark-downs are not charged).8 Thus, for
                                              Executive Officer, Bond Dealers of America, to          such transactions, the price is not                      As noted above, the Commission
                                              Secretary, Commission, dated August 28, 2015            inclusive of a commission or mark-up/
                                              (‘‘BDA Letter’’).
                                                                                                                                                             received two comment letters on the
                                                 5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 75875,
                                                                                                      mark-down. In another case, a firm
                                              80 FR 55671 (September 16, 2015).                       might charge a commission or mark-up/                    9 FINRA states that, as a practical matter, firms
                                                 6 Amendment No. 1 revised the proposal to                                                                   have difficulty complying with the current TRACE
                                                                                                         7 See FINRA Rule 6710 (defining ‘‘TRACE-            rules for these types of volume-based mark-up/
                                              include three exceptions to the requirement that
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                              members append the ‘‘no remuneration’’ indicator        Eligible Security’’). Most transactions reported to    mark-down arrangements, since they are unable to
                                              to trade reports that do not reflect either a           TRACE are publicly disseminated immediately            report accurately all the required information
                                              commission or mark-up/mark-down, for: (i) List or       upon receipt of a transaction report.                  related to the transaction on a timely basis and
                                              Fixed Offering Price Transactions, (ii) Takedown           8 Another example of a fee structure that is not    would need to submit a cancel and replace to
                                              Transactions, and (iii) inter-dealer transactions.      transaction-based is where an alternative trading      update the pricing information. In some cases, this
                                              Amendment No. 1 is available in the public              system (‘‘ATS’’) charges subscribers a fixed fee for   information might not be known until the end of
                                              comment file for SR–FINRA–2015–026 on the               unlimited trading each month. See Notice, 80 FR at     the month. See id.
                                              Commission’s Web site.                                  47547.                                                   10 See Notice, 80 FR at 47548.




                                         VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:05 Oct 21, 2015   Jkt 238001   PO 00000   Frm 00083   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\22OCN1.SGM   22OCN1


                                              64040                       Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 204 / Thursday, October 22, 2015 / Notices

                                              proposal.11 The SIFMA Letter generally                  modified by Amendment No. 1, is                       believes that Amendment No. 1 does not
                                              supports the proposal. However, SIFMA                   consistent with the requirements of the               raise any novel regulatory issues
                                              believes that the requirement to report                 Act and the rules and regulations                     because these exceptions are measured
                                              trades involving no remuneration                        thereunder applicable to a national                   and do not appear to impose any undue
                                              should be limited to customer trades                    securities association.15 In particular,              burdens on affected persons.
                                              and should not apply to dealer-to-dealer                the Commission finds that the proposed                  Accordingly, the Commission finds
                                              trades, consistent with SR–MSRB–                        rule change is consistent with Section                that good cause exists to approve the
                                              2015–02.12 The BDA Letter also                          15A(b)(6) of the Act,16 which requires,               proposal, as modified by Amendment
                                              supports the proposal but recommends                    among other things, that FINRA’s rules                No. 1, on an accelerated basis.
                                              that the proposed reporting requirement                 be designed to prevent fraudulent and                 VI. Solicitation of Comments
                                              extend only to customer trades,                         manipulative acts and practices, to
                                              consistent with MSRB Rule G–14.13 The                   promote just and equitable principles of                Interested persons are invited to
                                              BDA Letter expresses concern with how                   trade, and, in general, to protect                    submit written data, views, and
                                              the proposed requirement would affect                   investors and the public interest. The                arguments concerning the foregoing,
                                              smaller introducing dealers and dealers                 Commission also finds the proposal                    including whether Amendment No. 1 to
                                              already having difficulty with trade                    consistent with Section 15A(b)(9) of the              the proposed rule change is consistent
                                              reporting deadlines under current rules,                Act,17 which requires that FINRA’s rules              with the Act. Comments may be
                                              particularly if the requirement applies                 not impose any burden on competition                  submitted by any of the following
                                              to inter-dealer transactions.                           that is not necessary or appropriate in               methods:
                                                 In response to commenters’ concerns,                 furtherance of the purposes of the Act.               Electronic Comments
                                              FINRA proposed in Amendment No. 1                       The Commission notes that it previously
                                              to provide an exception to the proposed                 has approved a similar proposed rule                    • Use the Commission’s Internet
                                              ‘‘no remuneration’’ requirement for                     change of the MSRB.18                                 comment form (http://www.sec.gov/
                                              inter-dealer transactions. FINRA notes                     The Commission believes that the                   rules/sro.shtml); or
                                              that this change would further align the                proposed rule change is reasonably                      • Send an email to rule-comments@
                                              proposal with the comparable MSRB                       designed to improve transparency of                   sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
                                              rule, as requested by the commenters.14                 disseminated TRACE trade reports by                   FINRA–2015–026 on the subject line.
                                              FINRA believes that, given that inter-                  requiring firms to indicate when the                  Paper Comments
                                              dealer transactions typically do not                    trade report does not include a                          • Send paper comments in triplicate
                                              involve remuneration, excluding such                    commission or mark-up/mark-down.                      to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities
                                              transactions from the requirement better                Use of a ‘‘no remuneration’’ indicator                and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street
                                              focuses the use of the indicator on the                 will make investors better able to assess
                                                                                                                                                            NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
                                              types of transactions that would provide                disseminated transaction prices. Finally,
                                              the additional price transparency sought                the Commission believes that it is                    All submissions should refer to File
                                              by the proposal, which are transactions                 reasonable and consistent with the Act                Number SR–FINRA–2015–026. This file
                                              between dealers and customers.                          for FINRA to provide exceptions to this               number should be included on the
                                                 Also in Amendment No. 1, FINRA                       requirement for inter-dealer                          subject line if email is used. To help the
                                              proposed to add exceptions from the                     transactions, which do not typically                  Commission process and review your
                                              ‘‘no remuneration’’ indicator                           have remuneration, and for List or Fixed              comments more efficiently, please use
                                              requirement for List or Fixed Offering                  Offering Price and Takedown                           only one method. The Commission will
                                              Price Transactions, as defined in FINRA                 Transactions, for which there currently               post all comments on the Commission’s
                                              Rule 6710(q), and Takedown                              is no TRACE dissemination of the                      Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/
                                              Transactions, as defined in FINRA Rule                  transaction information.                              rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
                                              6710(r). These transactions are not                        Therefore, the Commission finds that               submission, all subsequent
                                              currently subject to dissemination;                     the proposed rule change, as modified                 amendments, all written statements
                                              FINRA believes, therefore, that applying                by Amendment No. 1, is consistent with                with respect to the proposed rule
                                              the ‘‘no remuneration’’ indicator to                    the Act.                                              change that are filed with the
                                              these transactions would not provide                                                                          Commission, and all written
                                              additional transparency to the market.                  V. Accelerated Approval of Proposal, as               communications relating to the
                                                                                                      Modified by Amendment No. 1                           proposed rule change between the
                                              IV. Discussion and Commission                                                                                 Commission and any person, other than
                                                                                                        The Commission finds good cause,
                                              Findings                                                                                                      those that may be withheld from the
                                                                                                      pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the
                                                After careful review of the proposal                  Exchange Act 19 for approving the                     public in accordance with the
                                              and comments submitted, the                             proposal, as modified by Amendment                    provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
                                              Commission finds that the proposal, as                  No. 1, prior to the 30th day after                    available for Web site viewing and
                                                                                                      publication of Amendment No. 1 in the                 printing in the Commission’s Public
                                                11 See  supra note 4.                                 Federal Register.                                     Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,
                                                12 See  SIFMA Letter at 1. See also Securities          Amendment No. 1 revised the                         Washington, DC 20549 on official
                                              Exchange Act Release No. 75039 (May 22, 2015), 80
                                              FR 31084 (June 1, 2015) (SR–MSRB–2015–02)               proposal to include limited exceptions                business days between the hours of
                                              (approving an MSRB proposal to, among other             to the proposed ‘‘no remuneration’’                   10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such
                                              things, require dealers to include a new indicator      indicator requirement. The Commission                 filing also will be available for
                                              on their trade reports that would be disseminated                                                             inspection and copying at the principal
                                              publicly to distinguish customer transactions that
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                                              do not include a dealer compensation component
                                                                                                        15 In approving this proposed rule change, the      offices of FINRA. All comments
                                              and those that include a markup, mark-down, or a        Commission has considered the proposed rule’s         received will be posted without change;
                                              commission) (‘‘MSRB Order’’).                           impact on efficiency, competition, and capital
                                                                                                      formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
                                                                                                                                                            the Commission does not edit personal
                                                 13 See BDA Letter at 1.
                                                 14 The MSRB’s rule limits the use of its ‘‘non-
                                                                                                        16 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(6).                           identifying information from
                                              transaction-based compensation arrangement
                                                                                                        17 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(9).                           submissions. You should submit only
                                              indicator’’ to transactions with customers. See           18 See MSRB Order, 80 FR at 31086–87.               information that you wish to make
                                              MSRB Order, 80 FR at 31085.                               19 See 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).                         available publicly. All submissions


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                                                                          Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 204 / Thursday, October 22, 2015 / Notices                                           64041

                                              should refer to File Number SR–FINRA–                   II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                    of the fact that many members would
                                              2015–026, and should be submitted on                    Statement of the Purpose of, and                      have already made arrangements to
                                              or before November 12, 2015.                            Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule                route away in accordance with the
                                                                                                      Change                                                Exchange’s instructions. To prevent this
                                              VII. Conclusion
                                                                                                         In its filing with the Commission, the             undesirable result, and preserve the
                                                It is therefore ordered, pursuant to                  self-regulatory organization included                 Exchange’s intent behind adopting
                                              Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,20 that the                 statements concerning the purpose of,                 volume-based pricing, the Exchange
                                              proposed rule change (SR–FINRA–                         and basis for, the proposed rule change               proposes to allow days to be excluded
                                              2015–026), as modified by Amendment                     and discussed any comments it received                from its ADV calculation whenever all
                                              No. 1, be, and hereby is, approved on an                on the proposed rule change. The text                 members are instructed, in writing, to
                                              accelerated basis.                                      of these statements may be examined at                route their orders to other markets.
                                                For the Commission, by the Division of                the places specified in Item IV below.                2. Statutory Basis
                                              Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated              The self-regulatory organization has
                                                                                                                                                               The Exchange believes that the
                                              authority.21                                            prepared summaries, set forth in
                                                                                                                                                            proposed rule change is consistent with
                                              Brent J. Fields,                                        sections A, B and C below, of the most
                                                                                                                                                            the provisions of Section 6 of the Act,3
                                              Secretary.                                              significant aspects of such statements.
                                                                                                                                                            in general, and Section 6(b)(4) of the
                                              [FR Doc. 2015–26808 Filed 10–21–15; 8:45 am]            A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                     Act,4 in particular, in that it is designed
                                              BILLING CODE 8011–01–P                                  Statement of the Purpose of, and                      to provide for the equitable allocation of
                                                                                                      Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule                reasonable dues, fees, and other charges
                                                                                                      Change                                                among its members and other persons
                                              SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                                                                                       using its facilities. The Exchange
                                              COMMISSION                                              1. Purpose
                                                                                                                                                            believes that it is reasonable and
                                                                                                         Currently, for purposes of                         equitable to exclude a day from its ADV
                                              [Release No. 34–76177; File No. SR–ISE–                 determining a member’s average daily                  calculations when members are
                                              2015–31]                                                volume (‘‘ADV’’), any day that the                    instructed to route their orders to other
                                                                                                      regular or complex order books are not                markets as this preserves the Exchange’s
                                              Self-Regulatory Organizations;                          open for the entire trading day may be                intent behind adopting volume-based
                                              International Securities Exchange,                      excluded from such calculation. The                   pricing, and avoids penalizing members
                                              LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate                     Exchange proposes to amend language                   that follow this instruction. Without this
                                              Effectiveness of Proposed Rule                          in the Schedule of Fees related to                    change, members that route away in
                                              Change To Amend the Schedule of                         excluding days from the ADV                           accordance with the Exchange’s
                                              Fees                                                    calculations used to determine                        instructions may be negatively
                                                                                                      applicable fee and rebate tiers.                      impacted, resulting in an effective cost
                                              October 16, 2015.                                       Specifically, the Exchange proposes to                increase for those members. The
                                                 Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the                  permit days to be excluded from its                   Exchange further believes that the
                                              Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the                    ADV calculations where the Exchange is                proposed rule change is not unfairly
                                              ‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2                  technically open for the entire trading               discriminatory because it applies
                                              notice is hereby given that on October                  day, but has instructed members to                    equally to all members and ADV
                                              1, 2015, the International Securities                   route away due to a systems or other                  calculations. As is the Exchange’s
                                              Exchange, LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or the                  error that ultimately does not impact                 current practice, the Exchange will
                                              ‘‘ISE’’) filed with the Securities and                  trading on the Exchange. Currently, the               inform members of any day to be
                                              Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’)                    Exchange’s ability to remove days from                excluded from its ADV calculations by
                                              the proposed rule change, as described                  its ADV calculations is limited to days               sending members a notice and posting
                                              in Items I, II, and III below, which Items              where the market is not open for the                  such notice on the Exchange’s Web site.
                                              have been prepared by the self-                         entire trading day. This allows the
                                              regulatory organization. The                            Exchange to exclude days, for example,                B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                              Commission is publishing this notice to                 where the Exchange declares a trading                 Statement on Burden on Competition
                                              solicit comments on the proposed rule                   halt in all securities, honors a market-                In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of
                                              change from interested persons.                         wide trading halt declared by another                 the Act,5 the Exchange does not believe
                                                                                                      market, or closes early for holiday                   that the proposed rule change will
                                              I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                       observance. Because these days
                                              Statement of the Terms of Substance of                                                                        impose any burden on intermarket or
                                                                                                      generally have artificially lower trading             intramarket competition that is not
                                              the Proposed Rule Change                                volume, the Exchange believes that it is              necessary or appropriate in furtherance
                                                The ISE proposes to amend language                    reasonable and equitable to not include               of the purposes of the Act. The
                                              in the Schedule of Fees related to                      such days in determining fee and rebate               Exchange believes that the proposed
                                              excluding days from its average daily                   tiers. The Exchange notes, however, that              modifications to its ADV calculation are
                                              volume calculations when the market is                  if it has a systems issue in the morning              pro-competitive and will result in lower
                                              not open for the entire trading day. The                before the market opens, it may instruct              total costs to end users, a positive
                                              text of the proposed rule change is                     members to route away to other markets.               outcome of competitive markets. The
                                              available on the Exchange’s Web site                    If the systems issue continues into                   Exchange operates in a highly
                                              (http://www.ise.com), at the principal                  trading hours, the Exchange is permitted              competitive market in which market
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                                              office of the Exchange, and at the                      to exclude the day for all members that               participants can readily direct their
                                              Commission’s Public Reference Room.                     would have a lower ADV with the day                   order flow to competing venues. In such
                                                                                                      included. If, however, the systems issue              an environment, the Exchange must
                                                20 15U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).                                is resolved prior to the opening of
                                                21 17CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                             trading, the Exchange is not permitted                  315 U.S.C. 78f.
                                                115 U.S.C.78s(b)(1)                                   to exclude the day from its ADV                         415 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
                                                217 CFR 240.19b–4.                                    calculations. This is the case regardless               5 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).




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Document Created: 2015-12-14 15:34:38
Document Modified: 2015-12-14 15:34:38
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 64039 

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