81 FR 95676 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Adopt a Trading License Fee for Calendar Year 2017

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 249 (December 28, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95676-95677]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31301]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-79639; File No. SR-NYSE-2016-88]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 
To Adopt a Trading License Fee for Calendar Year 2017

December 21, 2016.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on December 15, 2016, the New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' or 
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``SEC'' or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in 
Items I, II, and III, below, which Items have been prepared by the 
Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments 
on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to adopt a trading license fee for calendar 
year 2017. The Exchange proposes to make the rule change operative on 
January 3, 2017. The proposed rule change is available on the 
Exchange's Web site at www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the 
Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

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

    In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and 
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The 
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in 
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in 
sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such 
statements.

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

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to amend its Price List to adopt a trading 
license fee for calendar year 2017. The Exchange proposes to make the 
rule change operative on January 3, 2017.
    NYSE Rule 300(b) provides that, in each annual offering, up to 1366 
trading licenses for the following calendar year will be sold annually 
at a price per trading license to be established each year by the 
Exchange pursuant to a rule filing submitted to the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (``Commission'') and that the price per trading 
license will be published each year in the Exchange's price list.
    The Exchange proposes to leave the current trading license fee in 
place for 2017: $50,000 for the first license held by a member 
organization and no charge for additional licenses held by a member 
organization. Such trading license fees have been in place since July 
1, 2016.\3\ Fees will continue to be prorated for any portion of the 
year that a license may be outstanding. For a trading license that is 
in place for 10 calendar days or less in a calendar month, proration 
for that month will continue to be at a flat rate of $100 per day with 
no tier pricing involved. For a trading license that is in place for 11 
calendar days or more in a calendar month, proration for that month 
will continue to be computed based on the number of days as applied to 
the applicable annual fee for the license.
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 78233 (July 6, 
2016), 81 FR 45190 (July 12, 2016) (SR-NYSE-2016-47).
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    The proposed changes are not otherwise intended to address any 
other problem, and the Exchange is not aware of any significant problem 
that the affected market participants would have in complying with the 
proposed changes.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\4\ in general, and Section 6(b)(4) of the 
Act,\5\ in particular, in that it is designed to provide for the 
equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among 
its members and other persons using its facilities. The Exchange 
believes that the trading license fee is reasonable because it 
maintains the existing fee schedule, which has been in place since July 
1, 2016. The Exchange also believes that the proposal to maintain the 
current fee schedule is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory 
because all similarly situated member organizations would continue to 
be subject to the same trading license fee structure and

[[Page 95677]]

because access to the Exchange's market would continue to be offered on 
fair and non-discriminatory terms. The Exchange also believes that the 
proposal to maintain the current fee schedule is equitable and not 
unfairly discriminatory because all member organizations would continue 
to have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the fee relief with 
respect to additional trading licenses.
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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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    The Exchange believes that it is subject to significant competitive 
forces, as described below in the Exchange's statement regarding the 
burden on competition.
    For the foregoing reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposal 
is consistent with the Exchange Act.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The proposed rule change 
will keep trading license fees the same as they have been since July 1, 
2016. As a result, the Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule 
change will place an unreasonable burden on current members because 
their trading license fees will remain the same. In addition, the 
Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will place an 
unreasonable burden on potential members because a potential member's 
fees will be the same as for a current member and pro-rated for 
licenses held for less than a year.
    Finally, the Exchange notes that it operates in a highly 
competitive market in which market participants can readily favor 
competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be 
excessive or rebate opportunities available at other venues to be more 
favorable. In such an environment, the Exchange must continually adjust 
its fees and rebates to remain competitive with other exchanges and 
with alternative trading systems that have been exempted from 
compliance with the statutory standards applicable to exchanges. 
Because competitors are free to modify their own fees and credits in 
response, and because market participants may readily adjust their 
order routing practices, the Exchange believes that the degree to which 
fee changes in this market may impose any burden on competition is 
extremely limited. As a result of all of these considerations, the 
Exchange does not believe that the proposed changes will impair the 
ability of member organizations or competing order execution venues to 
maintain their competitive standing in the financial markets.

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

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the 
proposed rule change.

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

    The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to 
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \6\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-
4 \7\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge 
imposed by the Exchange.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \7\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule 
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is: (i) 
Necessary or appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the 
protection of investors; or (iii) otherwise in furtherance of the 
purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the 
Commission shall institute proceedings to determine whether the 
proposed rule should be approved or disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an email to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-NYSE-2016-88 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

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

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2016-88. 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 the filing also will be available 
for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All 
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does 
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2016-88 and should be 
submitted on or before January 18, 2017.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
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    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-31301 Filed 12-27-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P