81_FR_44518 81 FR 44388 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed Income Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To Suspend the Interbank Service of the GCF Repo® Service

81 FR 44388 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed Income Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To Suspend the Interbank Service of the GCF Repo® Service

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 130 (July 7, 2016)

Page Range44388-44390
FR Document2016-16033

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44388-44390]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16033]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-78206; File No. SR-FICC-2016-002]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed Income Clearing Corporation; 
Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To Suspend the Interbank Service 
of the GCF Repo[supreg] Service

June 30, 2016.
    On May 5, 2016, the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (``FICC'' or 
the ``Corporation'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') proposed rule change SR-FICC-2016-002 pursuant to 
section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ 
and Rule 19b-4 thereunder.\2\ The proposed rule change was published 
for comment in the Federal Register on May 20, 2016.\3\ The Commission 
received no comments on the proposed rule change. For the reasons 
discussed below, the Commission is approving the proposed rule change.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-77840 (May 16, 2016), 
81 FR 31996 (May 20, 2016) (SR-FICC-2016-002).
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I. Description of the Proposed Rule Change

    FICC seeks the Commission's approval to suspend the interbank 
service of the GCF Repo[supreg] service, as described more fully below. 
The suspension does not require changes to the text of the Government 
Securities Division (``GSD'') Rulebook (the ``GSD Rules''), however, 
the suspension requires changes to FICC's Real-Time Trade Matching 
(``RTTM[supreg]'') system.

A. The GCF Repo Service

    The GCF Repo service allows dealer members of FICC's Government 
Services Division to trade general collateral finance repos (``GCF 
Repos'') \4\ throughout the day without requiring intraday, trade-for-
trade settlement on a delivery-versus-payment basis.\5\ The service 
allows dealers to trade GCF Repos, based on rate and term, with inter-
dealer broker netting members on a blind basis. Standardized, generic 
CUSIP numbers have been established exclusively for GCF Repo 
processing, and are used to specify the type of underlying security 
that is eligible to serve as collateral for GCF Repos. Only Fedwire 
eligible, book-entry securities may serve as collateral for GCF Repos. 
Acceptable collateral for GCF Repos include most U.S. Treasury 
securities, non-mortgage-backed federal agency securities, fixed and 
adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities, Treasury Inflation-
Protected Securities and separate trading of registered interest and 
principal securities.\6\
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    \4\ A GCF Repo is one in which the lender of funds is willing to 
accept any of a class of U.S. Treasuries, U.S. government agency 
securities, and certain mortgage-backed securities as collateral for 
the repurchase obligation. This is in contrast to a specific 
collateral repo.
    \5\ Delivery-versus-payment is a settlement procedure in which 
the buyer's cash payment for the securities it has purchased is due 
at the time the securities are delivered.
    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34-58696 (September 
30, 2008), 73 FR 58698, 58699 (October 7, 2008) (SR-FICC-2008-04).
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    The GCF Repo service has operated on both an ``interbank'' and 
``intrabank'' basis. ``Interbank'' means that the two GCF Repo 
Participants which have been matched in a GCF Repo transaction each 
clear at a different clearing bank. ``Intrabank'' means that the two 
GCF Repo Participants which have been matched in a GCF Repo transaction 
clear at the same clearing bank.

B. Suspension of the Interbank Service of the GCF Repo Service

    Since 2011, FICC has made several changes to its GCF Repo service 
in order to comply with recommendations made by the Tri-Party Repo 
Infrastructure Reform Task Force (``TPR''), an industry group formed 
and sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The main purpose 
of the TPR was to develop recommendations to address the risk presented 
by triparty repo transactions due to the morning reversal (commonly 
referred to as the ``unwind'') process, by replacing it with a process 
by which transactions are collateralized all day. The GCF Repo service 
was originally designed to have transactions ``unwind'' every morning 
in order to mirror the transactions in the triparty repo market. Prior 
to Triparty Reform, transactions submitted on ``Day 1'' unwound on the 
morning of ``Day 2.'' To ``unwind'' means that the securities are 
returned to the lender of securities in the transaction and the cash is 
returned to the borrower of securities. Because of certain changes to 
the way in which the Triparty Reform effort was to proceed

[[Page 44389]]

and the impact of such changes on the interbank service of the GCF Repo 
service as further described below, FICC seeks to suspend the interbank 
service of the GCF Repo service. FICC's proposal seeks no changes to 
the intrabank service.
    All collateral that is settled via the interbank service is unwound 
the next morning to FICC's account at the pledging Clearing Bank in 
order to make the collateral available for collateral substitutions. In 
order to facilitate this intraday collateral substitution process, the 
Clearing Banks currently extend credit each business day to FICC at no 
charge. This uncapped and uncommitted credit extension to FICC 
facilitates the GCF Repo settlement process for both the intra-day and 
end of day settlement. The final changes related to the Triparty Reform 
effort would have eliminated the need for uncapped and uncommitted 
credit (a TPR goal) by including the development of interactive 
messages for the collateral substitution process (this was referred to 
as the ``Sub Hub''), which would have eliminated the need for the 
current morning unwind of interbank GCF Repos, and would have allowed 
for substitution of collateral across the Clearing Banks with minimal 
intra-day credit required. The last change was also going to include a 
streamlined end of day GCF Repo settlement process to reduce the amount 
of cash and collateral needed in order to complete settlement. This 
change would have incorporated the concept of a ``cap'' on FICC credit 
from the Clearing Banks, and an automated solution would have been 
developed to process the interbank GCF Repo settlement without 
breaching the defined and agreed to caps. As a result, the amount of 
credit that FICC would have needed from the Clearing Banks would have 
been managed to a minimal amount.
    Plans to implement the Sub Hub have not come to fruition. 
Therefore, to continue providing the interbank service, FICC would need 
a capped line of credit (without the benefits of any re-design to 
manage the amounts of needed credit). In other words, the capped line 
of credit would be applied to the interbank service as the service 
currently operates, and not in the re-designed fashion that was 
contemplated by the Triparty Reform effort, which would have allowed 
for smaller settlement amounts. FICC states that there would be 
prohibitive operational constraints in attempting to trade and settle 
GCF Repos while attempting to implement a cap on interbank GCF Repo 
trading and settlement. Specifically, FICC states that inter-dealer 
brokers would need to be integrated as a group from a technological 
perspective in order to be able to track the GCF Repo Participants' 
real-time netted positions, from an intrabank and interbank 
perspective, to ensure that the cap is not breached. FICC states that 
this would require an integrated pre-trade check across each inter-
dealer broker's platform and FICC to ensure conformity to the cap, 
which is not feasible.
    FICC seeks to suspend the interbank service of the GCF Repo service 
because: (1) FICC cannot operate the current interbank service within a 
capped credit amount; and (2) it is not feasible to institute a pre-
trade validation system. FICC seeks to suspend the interbank service of 
the GCF Repo service after July 15, 2016 (the ``Suspension Date''), 
which is approximately six (6) weeks prior to the date that one of the 
Clearing Banks has stated it will begin to impose the capped line of 
credit (September 1, 2016 or the ``Capped Charges Date''). According to 
FICC's proposal, subsequent to the Suspension Date, inter-dealer 
brokers would only be permitted to execute transactions among GCF Repo 
Participants within the same Clearing Bank. Inter-dealer brokers would 
establish two markets for GCF Repo trading--one for each Clearing Bank. 
This is the same approach that FICC utilized when it previously 
suspended the interbank service between 2003 and 2008. In addition, GSD 
would only accept and process transactions among GCF Repo Participants 
that settle within the same Clearing Bank. As a result, the 
RTTM[supreg] system would not accept and process transactions among GCF 
Repo Participants who settle at different Clearing Banks. FICC states 
that it will continue to explore whether there are other ways to re-
introduce the interbank service in the future.

II. Discussion

    Section 19(b)(2)(C) of the Act \7\ directs the Commission to 
approve a proposed rule change of a self-regulatory organization if it 
finds that such proposed rule change is consistent with the 
requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder 
applicable to such organization. Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act \8\ 
requires, among other things, that the rules of a clearing agency be 
designed to promote the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of 
securities transactions. The Commission finds that the proposed rule 
change is consistent with section 17A of the Act \9\ and the rules 
thereunder applicable to FICC.
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    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(C).
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(F).
    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As described above, Triparty Reform efforts have sought to 
eliminate the need for Clearing Banks to provide FICC with uncapped and 
uncommitted credit within the settlement process. Specifically, the Sub 
Hub project described above, if approved and implemented, would have 
eliminated the need for the current morning unwind of interbank GCF 
Repos, and would have allowed for substitution of collateral across the 
Clearing Banks with minimal intra-day credit required. A streamlined 
end of day GCF Repo settlement process would have reduced the amount of 
cash and collateral needed in order to complete settlement, in which 
circumstances, there would have been a cap on the line of credit from 
the Clearing Banks to FICC, with an automated solution to process the 
interbank GCF Repo settlement within the cap. As a result, the amount 
of credit that FICC would have needed from the Clearing Banks would 
have been managed to a minimal amount.
    However, in the Sub Hub's absence, according to FICC, a capped line 
of credit without the benefits of any re-design to manage the amounts 
of needed credit would present prohibitive operational constraints in 
attempting to trade and settle GCF Repos on an interbank basis. 
Specifically, inter-dealer brokers would need to be integrated as a 
group from a technological perspective in order to be able to track the 
GCF Repo Participants' real-time netted positions to ensure that the 
cap is not breached. This would require an integrated pre-trade check 
across each inter-dealer broker's platform and FICC to ensure 
conformity to the cap, which, FICC states, is not feasible. 
Accordingly, suspension of the interbank service will enable FICC to 
avoid accepting GCF Repo trades for clearing in an amount exceeding a 
Clearing Bank's capped line of credit, while allowing FICC to continue 
to clear GCF Repo transactions on an intrabank basis, thereby promoting 
the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of securities 
transactions, consistent with section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act.

III. Conclusion

    On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission finds that the 
proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of the Act, 
particularly those set forth in section 17A,\10\ and the rules and 
regulations thereunder.
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    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1.

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[[Page 44390]]

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to section 19(b)(2) of the 
Act,\11\ that the proposed rule change (SR-FICC-2016-002) be, and 
hereby is, approved.\12\
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
    \12\ In approving the proposed rule change, the Commission 
considered the proposal's impact on efficiency, competition, and 
capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
    \13\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\13\
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-16033 Filed 7-6-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P



                                                44388                           Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 130 / Thursday, July 7, 2016 / Notices

                                                objectives of Exchange Act Rule 13n–                     should submit only information that                       throughout the day without requiring
                                                4(b)(5).                                                 you wish to make available publicly. All                  intraday, trade-for-trade settlement on a
                                                   27. Rule 901(i) of Regulation SBSR                    submissions should refer to File                          delivery-versus-payment basis.5 The
                                                provides that a person must report                       Number SBSDR–2016–02 and should be                        service allows dealers to trade GCF
                                                information about a pre-enactment SBS                    submitted on or before August 8, 2016.                    Repos, based on rate and term, with
                                                or transitional SBS ‘‘to the extent that                                                                           inter-dealer broker netting members on
                                                                                                         Brent J. Fields,
                                                information about such transaction is                                                                              a blind basis. Standardized, generic
                                                available.’’ Is it clear that DDR’s policies             Secretary.                                                CUSIP numbers have been established
                                                and procedures, including regarding                      [FR Doc. 2016–16112 Filed 7–6–16; 8:45 am]                exclusively for GCF Repo processing,
                                                validations, will allow parties to submit                BILLING CODE 8011–01–P                                    and are used to specify the type of
                                                transaction records for pre-enactment                                                                              underlying security that is eligible to
                                                SBS and transitional SBS with data                                                                                 serve as collateral for GCF Repos. Only
                                                elements missing, pursuant to Rule                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                                   Fedwire eligible, book-entry securities
                                                901(i)?                                                  COMMISSION                                                may serve as collateral for GCF Repos.
                                                   28. Please provide your views as to                   [Release No. 34–78206; File No. SR–FICC–                  Acceptable collateral for GCF Repos
                                                whether DDR’s policies and procedures                    2016–002]                                                 include most U.S. Treasury securities,
                                                relating to how it would conduct                                                                                   non-mortgage-backed federal agency
                                                validations of transaction records for                   Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed                      securities, fixed and adjustable rate
                                                historic and newly executed SBS are                      Income Clearing Corporation; Order                        mortgage-backed securities, Treasury
                                                sufficiently detailed to meet the                        Approving Proposed Rule Change To                         Inflation-Protected Securities and
                                                objectives of Exchange Act Rule 13n–                     Suspend the Interbank Service of the                      separate trading of registered interest
                                                5(b)(1)(iii), and what further                           GCF Repo® Service                                         and principal securities.6
                                                clarifications, if any, you believe would                                                                             The GCF Repo service has operated
                                                                                                         June 30, 2016.                                            on both an ‘‘interbank’’ and ‘‘intrabank’’
                                                be appropriate.
                                                                                                            On May 5, 2016, the Fixed Income                       basis. ‘‘Interbank’’ means that the two
                                                   Comments may be submitted by any
                                                                                                         Clearing Corporation (‘‘FICC’’ or the                     GCF Repo Participants which have been
                                                of the following methods:
                                                                                                         ‘‘Corporation’’) filed with the Securities                matched in a GCF Repo transaction each
                                                Electronic Comments                                      and Exchange Commission                                   clear at a different clearing bank.
                                                  • Use the Commission’s Internet                        (‘‘Commission’’) proposed rule change                     ‘‘Intrabank’’ means that the two GCF
                                                comment form (http://www.sec.gov/                        SR–FICC–2016–002 pursuant to section                      Repo Participants which have been
                                                rules/proposed.shtml); or                                19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act                   matched in a GCF Repo transaction
                                                  • Send an email to rule-comments@                      of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4                        clear at the same clearing bank.
                                                sec.gov. Please include File Number                      thereunder.2 The proposed rule change
                                                SBSDR–2016–02 on the subject line.                       was published for comment in the                          B. Suspension of the Interbank Service
                                                                                                         Federal Register on May 20, 2016.3 The                    of the GCF Repo Service
                                                Paper Comments                                           Commission received no comments on                           Since 2011, FICC has made several
                                                   • Send paper comments to Brent J.                     the proposed rule change. For the                         changes to its GCF Repo service in order
                                                Fields, Secretary, Securities and                        reasons discussed below, the                              to comply with recommendations made
                                                Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,                   Commission is approving the proposed                      by the Tri-Party Repo Infrastructure
                                                Washington, DC 20549–1090. All                           rule change.                                              Reform Task Force (‘‘TPR’’), an industry
                                                submissions should refer to File                                                                                   group formed and sponsored by the
                                                                                                         I. Description of the Proposed Rule
                                                Number SBSDR–2016–02.                                                                                              Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The
                                                                                                         Change
                                                   To help the Commission process and                                                                              main purpose of the TPR was to develop
                                                review your comments more efficiently,                      FICC seeks the Commission’s                            recommendations to address the risk
                                                please use only one method of                            approval to suspend the interbank                         presented by triparty repo transactions
                                                submission. The Commission will post                     service of the GCF Repo® service, as                      due to the morning reversal (commonly
                                                all comments on the Commission’s                         described more fully below. The                           referred to as the ‘‘unwind’’) process, by
                                                Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/                   suspension does not require changes to                    replacing it with a process by which
                                                rules/other.shtml).                                      the text of the Government Securities                     transactions are collateralized all day.
                                                   Copies of the Form SDR, all                           Division (‘‘GSD’’) Rulebook (the ‘‘GSD                    The GCF Repo service was originally
                                                subsequent amendments, all written                       Rules’’), however, the suspension                         designed to have transactions ‘‘unwind’’
                                                statements with respect to the Form                      requires changes to FICC’s Real-Time                      every morning in order to mirror the
                                                SDR that are filed with the Commission,                  Trade Matching (‘‘RTTM®’’) system.                        transactions in the triparty repo market.
                                                and all written communications relating                  A. The GCF Repo Service                                   Prior to Triparty Reform, transactions
                                                to the Form SDR between the                                                                                        submitted on ‘‘Day 1’’ unwound on the
                                                Commission and any person, other than                       The GCF Repo service allows dealer                     morning of ‘‘Day 2.’’ To ‘‘unwind’’
                                                those that may be withheld from the                      members of FICC’s Government Services                     means that the securities are returned to
                                                public in accordance with the                            Division to trade general collateral                      the lender of securities in the
                                                provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be                      finance repos (‘‘GCF Repos’’) 4                           transaction and the cash is returned to
                                                available for Web site viewing and                                                                                 the borrower of securities. Because of
                                                                                                              1 15
                                                                                                                 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                printing in the Commission’s Public                           2 17
                                                                                                                                                                   certain changes to the way in which the
                                                                                                                 CFR 240.19b–4.
                                                Reference Section, 100 F Street NE.,
srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                            3 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–77840         Triparty Reform effort was to proceed
                                                Washington, DC 20549, on official                        (May 16, 2016), 81 FR 31996 (May 20, 2016) (SR–
                                                business days between the hours of                       FICC–2016–002).                                             5 Delivery-versus-payment is a settlement

                                                10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.                                    4 A GCF Repo is one in which the lender of funds       procedure in which the buyer’s cash payment for
                                                   All comments received will be posted                  is willing to accept any of a class of U.S. Treasuries,   the securities it has purchased is due at the time
                                                                                                         U.S. government agency securities, and certain            the securities are delivered.
                                                without change; the Commission does                      mortgage-backed securities as collateral for the            6 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–
                                                not edit personal identifying                            repurchase obligation. This is in contrast to a           58696 (September 30, 2008), 73 FR 58698, 58699
                                                information from submissions. You                        specific collateral repo.                                 (October 7, 2008) (SR–FICC–2008–04).



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                                                                                Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 130 / Thursday, July 7, 2016 / Notices                                               44389

                                                and the impact of such changes on the                    would need to be integrated as a group                    section 17A of the Act 9 and the rules
                                                interbank service of the GCF Repo                        from a technological perspective in                       thereunder applicable to FICC.
                                                service as further described below, FICC                 order to be able to track the GCF Repo                       As described above, Triparty Reform
                                                seeks to suspend the interbank service                   Participants’ real-time netted positions,                 efforts have sought to eliminate the need
                                                of the GCF Repo service. FICC’s                          from an intrabank and interbank                           for Clearing Banks to provide FICC with
                                                proposal seeks no changes to the                         perspective, to ensure that the cap is not                uncapped and uncommitted credit
                                                intrabank service.                                       breached. FICC states that this would                     within the settlement process.
                                                   All collateral that is settled via the                require an integrated pre-trade check                     Specifically, the Sub Hub project
                                                interbank service is unwound the next                    across each inter-dealer broker’s                         described above, if approved and
                                                morning to FICC’s account at the                         platform and FICC to ensure conformity                    implemented, would have eliminated
                                                pledging Clearing Bank in order to make                  to the cap, which is not feasible.                        the need for the current morning
                                                the collateral available for collateral                     FICC seeks to suspend the interbank                    unwind of interbank GCF Repos, and
                                                substitutions. In order to facilitate this               service of the GCF Repo service because:                  would have allowed for substitution of
                                                intraday collateral substitution process,                (1) FICC cannot operate the current                       collateral across the Clearing Banks with
                                                the Clearing Banks currently extend                      interbank service within a capped credit                  minimal intra-day credit required. A
                                                credit each business day to FICC at no                   amount; and (2) it is not feasible to                     streamlined end of day GCF Repo
                                                charge. This uncapped and                                institute a pre-trade validation system.                  settlement process would have reduced
                                                uncommitted credit extension to FICC                     FICC seeks to suspend the interbank                       the amount of cash and collateral
                                                facilitates the GCF Repo settlement                      service of the GCF Repo service after                     needed in order to complete settlement,
                                                process for both the intra-day and end                   July 15, 2016 (the ‘‘Suspension Date’’),                  in which circumstances, there would
                                                of day settlement. The final changes                     which is approximately six (6) weeks                      have been a cap on the line of credit
                                                related to the Triparty Reform effort                    prior to the date that one of the Clearing                from the Clearing Banks to FICC, with
                                                would have eliminated the need for                       Banks has stated it will begin to impose                  an automated solution to process the
                                                uncapped and uncommitted credit (a                       the capped line of credit (September 1,                   interbank GCF Repo settlement within
                                                TPR goal) by including the development                                                                             the cap. As a result, the amount of credit
                                                                                                         2016 or the ‘‘Capped Charges Date’’).
                                                of interactive messages for the collateral                                                                         that FICC would have needed from the
                                                                                                         According to FICC’s proposal,
                                                substitution process (this was referred to                                                                         Clearing Banks would have been
                                                                                                         subsequent to the Suspension Date,
                                                as the ‘‘Sub Hub’’), which would have                                                                              managed to a minimal amount.
                                                                                                         inter-dealer brokers would only be
                                                eliminated the need for the current
                                                                                                         permitted to execute transactions among                      However, in the Sub Hub’s absence,
                                                morning unwind of interbank GCF
                                                                                                         GCF Repo Participants within the same                     according to FICC, a capped line of
                                                Repos, and would have allowed for
                                                                                                         Clearing Bank. Inter-dealer brokers                       credit without the benefits of any re-
                                                substitution of collateral across the
                                                                                                         would establish two markets for GCF                       design to manage the amounts of needed
                                                Clearing Banks with minimal intra-day
                                                                                                         Repo trading—one for each Clearing                        credit would present prohibitive
                                                credit required. The last change was
                                                also going to include a streamlined end                  Bank. This is the same approach that                      operational constraints in attempting to
                                                of day GCF Repo settlement process to                    FICC utilized when it previously                          trade and settle GCF Repos on an
                                                reduce the amount of cash and collateral                 suspended the interbank service                           interbank basis. Specifically, inter-
                                                needed in order to complete settlement.                  between 2003 and 2008. In addition,                       dealer brokers would need to be
                                                This change would have incorporated                      GSD would only accept and process                         integrated as a group from a
                                                the concept of a ‘‘cap’’ on FICC credit                  transactions among GCF Repo                               technological perspective in order to be
                                                from the Clearing Banks, and an                          Participants that settle within the same                  able to track the GCF Repo Participants’
                                                automated solution would have been                       Clearing Bank. As a result, the RTTM®                     real-time netted positions to ensure that
                                                developed to process the interbank GCF                   system would not accept and process                       the cap is not breached. This would
                                                Repo settlement without breaching the                    transactions among GCF Repo                               require an integrated pre-trade check
                                                defined and agreed to caps. As a result,                 Participants who settle at different                      across each inter-dealer broker’s
                                                the amount of credit that FICC would                     Clearing Banks. FICC states that it will                  platform and FICC to ensure conformity
                                                have needed from the Clearing Banks                      continue to explore whether there are                     to the cap, which, FICC states, is not
                                                would have been managed to a minimal                     other ways to re-introduce the interbank                  feasible. Accordingly, suspension of the
                                                amount.                                                  service in the future.                                    interbank service will enable FICC to
                                                   Plans to implement the Sub Hub have                                                                             avoid accepting GCF Repo trades for
                                                                                                         II. Discussion
                                                not come to fruition. Therefore, to                                                                                clearing in an amount exceeding a
                                                continue providing the interbank                           Section 19(b)(2)(C) of the Act 7 directs                Clearing Bank’s capped line of credit,
                                                service, FICC would need a capped line                   the Commission to approve a proposed                      while allowing FICC to continue to clear
                                                of credit (without the benefits of any re-               rule change of a self-regulatory                          GCF Repo transactions on an intrabank
                                                design to manage the amounts of needed                   organization if it finds that such                        basis, thereby promoting the prompt
                                                credit). In other words, the capped line                 proposed rule change is consistent with                   and accurate clearance and settlement of
                                                of credit would be applied to the                        the requirements of the Act and the                       securities transactions, consistent with
                                                interbank service as the service                         rules and regulations thereunder                          section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act.
                                                currently operates, and not in the re-                   applicable to such organization. Section
                                                                                                                                                                   III. Conclusion
                                                designed fashion that was contemplated                   17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act 8 requires, among
                                                by the Triparty Reform effort, which                     other things, that the rules of a clearing                  On the basis of the foregoing, the
                                                would have allowed for smaller                           agency be designed to promote the                         Commission finds that the proposed
srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                settlement amounts. FICC states that                     prompt and accurate clearance and                         rule change is consistent with the
                                                there would be prohibitive operational                   settlement of securities transactions.                    requirements of the Act, particularly
                                                constraints in attempting to trade and                   The Commission finds that the                             those set forth in section 17A,10 and the
                                                settle GCF Repos while attempting to                     proposed rule change is consistent with                   rules and regulations thereunder.
                                                implement a cap on interbank GCF Repo
                                                trading and settlement. Specifically,                         7 15   U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(C).                            9 15   U.S.C. 78q–1.
                                                FICC states that inter-dealer brokers                         8 15   U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F).                          10 15   U.S.C. 78q–1.



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                                                44390                           Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 130 / Thursday, July 7, 2016 / Notices

                                                  It is therefore ordered, pursuant to                   concerning the purpose of and basis for                  The Exchange also proposes to amend
                                                section 19(b)(2) of the Act,11 that the                  the proposed rule change and discussed                Section 3)b) of the Fee Schedule to
                                                proposed rule change (SR–FICC–2016–                      any comments it received on the                       provide that Monthly Trading Permit
                                                002) be, and hereby is, approved.12                      proposed rule change. The text of these               Fees will be assessed with respect to
                                                  For the Commission, by the Division of                 statements may be examined at the                     Electronic Exchange Members
                                                Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated               places specified in Item IV below. The                (‘‘EEMs’’) 4 (other than Clearing Firms)
                                                authority.13                                             Exchange has prepared summaries, set                  in any month the EEM is certified in the
                                                Robert W. Errett,                                        forth in sections A, B, and C below, of               membership system and the EEM is
                                                Deputy Secretary.                                        the most significant aspects of such                  authorized by the Exchange (hereinafter,
                                                [FR Doc. 2016–16033 Filed 7–6–16; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                         statements.                                           ‘‘credentialed’’) to use one or more
                                                BILLING CODE 8011–01–P                                   A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                     Financial Information Exchange (‘‘FIX’’)
                                                                                                         Statement of the Purpose of, and the                  Ports 5 in the production environment.
                                                                                                         Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule                Further, the Exchange proposes that
                                                SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                                  Change                                                Monthly Trading Permit Fees will be
                                                COMMISSION                                                                                                     assessed with respect to EEM-Clearing
                                                                                                         1. Purpose                                            Firms in any month the Clearing Firm
                                                [Release No. 34–78222; File No. SR–MIAX–
                                                                                                            The Exchange proposes to amend its                 is certified in the membership system to
                                                2016–18]
                                                                                                         Fee Schedule to clarify the                           clear transactions on the Exchange.
                                                Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami                     circumstances that trigger the                        Finally, the Exchange proposes that
                                                International Securities Exchange LLC;                   assessment of fees to, and billing of,                Monthly Trading Permit Fees will be
                                                Notice of Filing and Immediate                           Member or Non-Member users of the                     assessed with respect to Market Makers
                                                Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule                         Exchange’s System 3 for certain non-                  in any month the Market Maker is
                                                Change To Amend the MIAX Options                         transactional fees, as set forth below.               certified in the membership system, is
                                                Fee Schedule                                             The Exchange is not proposing any new                 credentialed to use one or more MIAX
                                                                                                         fees that are not currently charged; the              Express Interface (‘‘MEI’’) 6 Ports in the
                                                July 1, 2016.                                            Exchange is simply proposing to clarify               production environment and is assigned
                                                   Pursuant to the provisions of Section                 that the Exchange will assess the fees                to quote in one or more classes.7
                                                19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act                  only when the Member or Non-Member                       The Exchange also proposes to amend
                                                of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4                       user is credentialed (as defined below)               Section 4)a) of the Fee Schedule to state
                                                thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that                 to use the System in the production                   that Application Programming Interface
                                                on June 28, 2016, Miami International                    environment, thus ensuring that                       (‘‘API’’) Testing and Certification Fees
                                                Securities Exchange LLC (‘‘MIAX’’ or                     Member and Non-Member users of the                    for EEMs (other than Clearing Firms)
                                                ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities                  System are not billed unnecessarily                   will be assessed (i) initially per API for
                                                and Exchange Commission                                  before they are ready to begin using the              FIX, FIX Drop Copy (‘‘FXD’’) 8 and
                                                (‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change                  System. The Exchange is also proposing                Clearing Trade Drop (‘‘CTD’’) 9 in the
                                                as described in Items I and II below,                    several technical clarifying amendments               month the EEM has been credentialed to
                                                which Items have been prepared by the                    to the Fee Schedule as described below.               use one or more ports in the production
                                                Exchange. The Commission is                                 New users of the System (and existing
                                                publishing this notice to solicit                        users of the System that seek to add                     4 The term ‘‘Electronic Exchange Member’’ means

                                                comments on the proposed rule change                     connectivity) require testing and                     the holder of a Trading Permit who is not a Market
                                                from interested persons.                                                                                       Maker. Electronic Exchange Members are deemed
                                                                                                         certification prior to actual use in the              ‘‘members’’ under the Exchange Act. See Exchange
                                                I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                        production environment. It has been the               Rule 100.
                                                Statement of the Terms of Substance of                   Exchange’s experience that such users                    5 A FIX Port is an interface with MIAX systems


                                                the Proposed Rule Change                                 frequently must engage in internal                    that enables the Port user (typically an Electronic
                                                                                                         business and technological decision-                  Exchange Member or a Market Maker) to submit
                                                   The Exchange is filing a proposal to                  making and production processes that                  orders electronically to MIAX.
                                                                                                                                                                  6 MIAX Express Interface is a connection to MIAX
                                                amend the MIAX Options Fee Schedule                      extend beyond the timing of their                     systems that enables Market Makers to submit
                                                (‘‘Fee Schedule’’).                                      application, testing and certification                electronic quotes to MIAX.
                                                   The text of the proposed rule change                  with the Exchange for use of the System                  7 The calculation of the Trading Permit Fee for
                                                is available on the Exchange’s Web site                  in the production environment. In order               the first month in which the Trading Permit is
                                                at http://www.miaxoptions.com/filter/                    to ensure that Member and Non-Member                  issued will be pro-rated based on the number of
                                                wotitle/rule_filing, at MIAX’s principal                                                                       trading days on which the Trading Permit was in
                                                                                                         users of the System are not assessed fees             effect divided by the total number of trading days
                                                office, and at the Commission’s Public                   and billed unnecessarily during this                  in that month multiplied by the monthly rate.
                                                Reference Room.                                          time, the Exchange is proposing the                      8 The FIX Drop Copy Port is a messaging interface

                                                                                                         below changes to the Fee Schedule                     that will provide a copy of real-time trade
                                                II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                                                                             execution, trade correction and trade cancellation
                                                Statement of the Purpose of, and                         relating to the timing of such assessment             information to FIX Drop Copy Port users who
                                                Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule                   and billing.                                          subscribe to the service.
                                                Change                                                      The Exchange proposes to amend                        9 CTD provides Exchange members with real-time

                                                                                                         Section 3)a) of the Fee Schedule to                   clearing trade updates. The updates include the
                                                   In its filing with the Commission, the                provide that MIAX will assess a one-                  member’s clearing trade messages on a low latency,
                                                Exchange included statements                             time Membership Application Fee on
                                                                                                                                                               real-time basis. The trade messages are routed to a
                                                                                                                                                               member’s connection containing certain
srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                  11 15
                                                                                                         the earlier of (i) the date the applicant             information. The information includes, among other
                                                         U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
                                                  12 In approving the proposed rule change, the
                                                                                                         is certified in the membership system,                things, the following: (i) Trade date and time; (ii)
                                                                                                         or (ii) once an application for MIAX                  symbol information; (iii) trade price/size
                                                Commission considered the proposal’s impact on                                                                 information; (iv) member type (for example, and
                                                efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See      membership is finally denied.                         without limitation, Market Maker, Electronic
                                                15 U.S.C. 78c(f).                                                                                              Exchange Member, Broker-Dealer); and (v)
                                                   13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                               3 The term ‘‘System’’ means the automated          Exchange Member Participant Identifier (‘‘MPID’’)
                                                   1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                                                                         trading system used by the Exchange for the trading   for each side of the transaction, including clearing
                                                   2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.                                   of securities. See Exchange Rule 100.                 member MPID.



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Document Created: 2018-02-08 07:54:34
Document Modified: 2018-02-08 07:54:34
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 Citation81 FR 44388 

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