82_FR_49067 82 FR 48865 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Assess Fees for Specialized Quote Feed and SQF Purge Ports

82 FR 48865 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Assess Fees for Specialized Quote Feed and SQF Purge Ports

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 202 (October 20, 2017)

Page Range48865-48867
FR Document2017-22757

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 202 (Friday, October 20, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 202 (Friday, October 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48865-48867]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22757]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-81882; File No. SR-ISE-2017-87]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Assess Fees for 
Specialized Quote Feed and SQF Purge Ports

October 16, 2017.
    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 October 2, 2017, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (``ISE'' 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 proposal to amend its Schedule of Fees, as 
described further below.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
Web site at www.ise.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 is proposing to amend its Schedule of Fees to assess 
fees for Specialized Quote Feed (``SQF'') \3\ and SQF Purge \4\ Ports 
that Market Makers \5\ utilize to connect to the Exchange. The Exchange 
recently completed the migration of the Exchange's T7 trading

[[Page 48866]]

system to the Nasdaq INET architecture.\6\ This technology re-platform 
included the adoption of new connectivity options, including SQF and 
SQF Purge Ports,\7\ which are the same as the connectivity options 
currently used to connect to the Exchange's affiliates, including 
Nasdaq GEMX (``GEMX''), Nasdaq Options Market (``NOM''), Nasdaq BX 
(``BX''), and Nasdaq Phlx (``Phlx'').\8\ During the migration period, 
Market Makers had to use both old application programming interface 
(``API'') sessions (``old API Ports'') and new SQF Ports to connect to 
the Exchange.\9\ To help its members transition through the migration 
period, the Exchange filed a fee proposal regarding the old API Ports 
and the new SQF Ports.\10\ As part of that filing, the Exchange added 
the following language in Section V of the Schedule of Fees in order to 
avoid double charging Market Makers who were using both the old and new 
connectivity options to access the Exchange while also allowing the 
Exchange to recoup the costs of supporting its architecture 
(``migration accommodation language''):
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    \3\ SQF is an interface that allows market makers to connect and 
send quotes, sweeps and auction responses into the Exchange. Data 
includes the following: (1) Options Auction Notifications (e.g., 
opening imbalance, Flash, PIM, Solicitation and Facilitation or 
other information); (2) Options Symbol Directory Messages; (3) 
System Event Messages (e.g., start of messages, start of system 
hours, start of quoting, start of opening); (4) Option Trading 
Action Messages (e.g., halts, resumes); (5) Execution Messages; (6) 
Quote Messages (quote/sweep messages, risk protection triggers or 
purge notifications).
    \4\ SQF Purge is a specific port for the SQF interface that only 
receives and notifies of purge requests from the market maker.
    \5\ The term ``Market Makers'' refers to ``Competitive Market 
Makers'' and ``Primary Market Makers'' collectively. See ISE Rule 
100(a)(25).
    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80432 (April 11, 
2017), 82 FR 18191 (April 17, 2017) (SR-ISE-2017-03).
    \7\ When the Exchange adopted these new ports, it initially did 
not assess any fees so that members would not be double charged for 
connectivity to the old Exchange architecture and the new Nasdaq 
INET architecture. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81095 
(July 7, 2017), 82 FR 32409 (July 13, 2017) (SR-ISE-2017-62).
    \8\ See GEMX Schedule of Fees, IV. Access Services, Port Fees, 
3. Ports; NOM Rules, Chapter XV Options Pricing, Sec. 3 NOM--Ports 
and other Services; BX Rules, Chapter XV Options Pricing, Sec. 3 
BX--Ports and other Services; and Phlx Pricing Schedule, VII. Other 
Member Fees, B. Port Fees.
    \9\ The Exchange migrated on a symbol by symbol basis thereby 
requiring the use of both the old API Ports on T7 and the new SQF 
Ports on INET for a period of time.
    \10\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81213 (July 26, 
2017), 82 FR 35855 (August 1, 2017) (SR-ISE-2017-73) (hereinafter 
``Prior SQF Filing'').
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    (1) In Section V.D of the Schedule of Fees, it is currently noted 
for the monthly $1,000 SQF Port Fee that: ``A Market Maker who was not 
subject to the API Session Fee in Section V.C.1 prior to July 3, 2017 
will be assessed the above SQF Port Fee from July 3, 2017 through 
September 29, 2017. This SQF Port Fee will not apply to Market Makers 
that are subject to the Fixed Fee in Section V.E.''
    (2) Section V.E of the Schedule of Fees presently reads: ``Market 
Makers that are subject to the API Session Fee in Section V.C.1 as of 
July 3, 2017 will be subject a monthly fixed fee that reflects the 
average of API Session Fees assessed to that Market Maker for the 
months of March, April, and May 2017 (``Fixed Fee'') in lieu of the API 
Session Fee. This Fixed Fee will be assessed to these Market Makers 
from July 3, 2017 through September 29, 2017, and applies both to API 
sessions and SQF ports used to connect to Nasdaq ISE. The Fixed Fee 
will be charged for all of the API sessions and SQF ports used in a 
given month during this time period, not per port.''
    As discussed above, the Exchange completed its migration to INET, 
and the old API Ports have accordingly been eliminated and only the new 
SQF Ports are being utilized. As such, these instances of the migration 
accommodation language are no longer needed and are therefore being 
deleted.
    The Exchange also seeks to amend Section V.D of the Schedule of 
Fees to increase the monthly $1,000 SQF Port Fee to $1,100 per SQF Port 
and to begin assessing a monthly $1,100 SQF Purge Port Fee per SQF 
Purge Port. The proposed SQF and SQF Purge Port Fees will apply to all 
Market Makers. The Exchange believes that its pricing remains 
competitive.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section 
6(b) of the Act,\11\ in general, and furthers the objectives of 
Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\12\ in particular, in that it 
provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 
other charges among members and issuers and other persons using any 
facility, and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between 
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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    As discussed above, the Exchange added the migration accommodation 
language and the associated Fixed Fee and $1,000 SQF Port Fee in 
Section V of the Schedule of Fees in order to avoid double charging 
members while also allowing the Exchange to recoup the costs of 
supporting its architecture. At the time these fees were put into 
place, the Exchange recognized that there may not be a one-to-one 
relationship between the number of the old API Ports and the new SQF 
Ports needed to connect to the Exchange due to the different 
infrastructure of the two trading systems.\13\ The Exchange expected, 
however, that the quoting needs and other trading activity of Market 
Makers would remain relatively constant throughout the migration and 
across the two platforms.\14\ As such, the Exchange stated that it 
would use the time period between July 3, 2017 and September 29, 2017 
to monitor the manner in which all Market Makers connect to the new 
INET trading system, and would reassess whether the related fees 
assessed to Market Makers were adequate and reasonable.\15\ During this 
three-month time frame, the Exchange has looked at the manner in which 
all Market Makers connect to INET to determine the proposed $1,100 SQF 
and SQF Purge Port Fees, and believes that these fees are adequate and 
reasonable in light of how all Market Makers use these ports to access 
the Exchange. Furthermore, the Exchange believes that assessing all 
Market Makers the proposed fees is reasonable because members no longer 
have connectivity to the old Exchange architecture (and therefore no 
longer need to maintain two sets of ports), and are using only the new 
SQF Ports to connect to the Exchange.
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    \13\ See Prior SQF Filing at 35856.
    \14\ Id.
    \15\ Id. at 35858.
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    In addition, the Exchange believes that the proposed SQF and SQF 
Purge Port Fees of $1,100 per port, per month are reasonable because 
they are in line with the fees assessed by other exchanges. For 
example, GEMX assesses a fee of $1,250 per port, per month for SQF and 
SQF Purge Ports today.\16\ The Exchange also notes that Bats BZX 
Exchange, Inc. (``Bats BZX'') assesses a $1,500 fee to its market 
makers for Ports with Bulk Quoting Capabilities.\17\
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    \16\ See GEMX Schedule of Fees, IV. Access Services, Port Fees, 
3. Ports.
    \17\ See Bats BZX Fee Schedule at: https://www.bats.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/bzx/.
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    The Exchange also believes that the proposed fees are an equitable 
allocation and not unfairly discriminatory because the Exchange will 
apply these fees uniformly to all similarly situated members.
    The Exchange believes that deleting the migration accommodation 
language from Section V of the Schedule of Fees is reasonable, 
equitable and not unfairly discriminatory because the migration is now 
completed and the migration accommodation language is therefore no 
longer needed. Deleting outdated rule text will bring greater clarity 
to the Exchange's Schedule of Fees.

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

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. As explained above, the 
proposed SQF and SQF Purge Port Fees are assessed uniformly to all 
Market Makers at a rate that is

[[Page 48867]]

representative of their typical usage of the new ports. Moreover, the 
proposed fees are in line with the fees assessed by other exchanges for 
the same or similar connectivity.
    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 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 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. In sum, if the changes proposed 
herein are unattractive to market participants, it is likely that the 
Exchange will lose market share as a result. Accordingly, the Exchange 
does not believe that the proposed fee changes will impair the ability 
of members 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 either solicited or received.

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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.\18\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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-ISE-2017-87 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-ISE-2017-87. 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-ISE-2017-87 and should be 
submitted on or before November 13, 2017.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\19\
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    \19\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-22757 Filed 10-19-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P



                                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices                                                   48865

                                                assets in illiquid assets (calculated at                constitute continued listing                          2, 2017, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or
                                                the time of investment).                                requirements for the Fund. The issuer                 ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
                                                   (7) A minimum of 100,000 Shares for                  has represented to the Exchange that it               and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or
                                                the Fund will be outstanding at the                     will advise the Exchange of any failure               ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
                                                commencement of trading on the                          by the Fund to comply with the                        change as described in Items I, II, and
                                                Exchange.                                               continued listing requirements, and,                  III, below, which Items have been
                                                   (8) All futures contracts (and options               pursuant to its obligations under                     prepared by the Exchange. The
                                                on futures), listed options, and ETPs                   Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange             Commission is publishing this notice to
                                                held by the Fund will be traded on U.S.                 will monitor for compliance with the                  solicit comments on the proposed rule
                                                exchanges, all of which are members of                  continued listing requirements. The                   change from interested persons.
                                                ISG or are exchanges with which the                     Exchange further represents that FINRA
                                                Exchange has in place a comprehensive                                                                         I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                                                                        conducts certain cross-market                         Statement of the Terms of Substance of
                                                surveillance sharing agreement.                         surveillances on behalf of the Exchange
                                                   (9) The Fund will not invest in any                                                                        the Proposed Rule Change
                                                                                                        pursuant to a regulatory services
                                                non-U.S. equity securities.                             agreement, and the Exchange is                           The Exchange proposes to proposal to
                                                   (10) The Fund’s investments will be                  responsible for FINRA’s performance                   amend its Schedule of Fees, as
                                                consistent with the Fund’s investment                   under this regulatory services                        described further below.
                                                objective and will not be used to                       agreement. If the Fund is not in                         The text of the proposed rule change
                                                enhance leverage.31 The Fund will not                                                                         is available on the Exchange’s Web site
                                                                                                        compliance with the applicable listing
                                                invest in leveraged (e.g., 2X, –2X, 3X, or                                                                    at www.ise.com, at the principal office
                                                                                                        requirements, the Exchange will
                                                –3X) ETPs.                                                                                                    of the Exchange, and at the
                                                   (11) The Fund’s investments in total                 commence delisting procedures under
                                                                                                        Rule 14.12.                                           Commission’s Public Reference Room.
                                                return swap agreements will be backed
                                                                                                          This approval order is based on all of              II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                by investments in U.S. government
                                                                                                        the Exchange’s representations,                       Statement of the Purpose of, and
                                                securities in an amount equal to the
                                                                                                        including those set forth above and in                Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
                                                exposure of those contracts.
                                                   (12) The Fund may invest up to 10%                   the Notice. For the foregoing reasons,                Change
                                                of its assets in over-the-counter Russell               the Commission finds that the proposed
                                                                                                                                                                 In its filing with the Commission, the
                                                2000 put options.                                       rule change is consistent with Section
                                                                                                                                                              Exchange included statements
                                                   (13) All money market instruments                    6(b)(5) of the Act 32 and the rules and
                                                                                                                                                              concerning the purpose of and basis for
                                                acquired by the Fund will be rated                      regulations thereunder applicable to a                the proposed rule change and discussed
                                                investment grade, except that a Fund                    national securities exchange.                         any comments it received on the
                                                may invest in unrated money market                      IV. Conclusion                                        proposed rule change. The text of these
                                                instruments that are deemed by the                                                                            statements may be examined at the
                                                                                                          It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
                                                Adviser or Sub-Adviser to be of                                                                               places specified in Item IV below. The
                                                                                                        Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,33 that the
                                                comparable quality to money market                                                                            Exchange has prepared summaries, set
                                                                                                        proposed rule change (SR–BatsBZX–
                                                securities rated investment grade.                                                                            forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
                                                   (14) The Russell 2000 Index options                  2017–53) be, and it hereby is, approved.
                                                                                                                                                              the most significant aspects of such
                                                traded on CBOE are highly liquid, with                    For the Commission, by the Division of              statements.
                                                average daily trading volume in 2016 of                 Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
                                                71,365 contracts and a notional size per                authority.34                                          A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                contract of $117,169. CBOE is a member                  Eduardo A. Aleman,                                    Statement of the Purpose of, and
                                                of the Option Price Regulatory                          Assistant Secretary.                                  Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
                                                Surveillance Authority, which was                       [FR Doc. 2017–22752 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am]          Change
                                                established to provide efficiencies in                  BILLING CODE 8011–01–P                                1. Purpose
                                                looking for insider trading and serves as
                                                                                                                                                                 The Exchange is proposing to amend
                                                a central organization to facilitate
                                                                                                        SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                               its Schedule of Fees to assess fees for
                                                collaboration in insider trading and
                                                                                                        COMMISSION                                            Specialized Quote Feed (‘‘SQF’’) 3 and
                                                investigations for the U.S. options
                                                                                                                                                              SQF Purge 4 Ports that Market Makers 5
                                                exchanges.                                              [Release No. 34–81882; File No. SR–ISE–
                                                   The Exchange further represents that                                                                       utilize to connect to the Exchange. The
                                                                                                        2017–87]
                                                all statements and representations made                                                                       Exchange recently completed the
                                                in the filing regarding the index                       Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq                 migration of the Exchange’s T7 trading
                                                composition, the description of the                     ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and                           3 SQF is an interface that allows market makers
                                                portfolio or reference assets, limitations              Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed                   to connect and send quotes, sweeps and auction
                                                on portfolio holdings or reference assets,              Rule Change To Assess Fees for                        responses into the Exchange. Data includes the
                                                dissemination and availability of index,                Specialized Quote Feed and SQF                        following: (1) Options Auction Notifications (e.g.,
                                                reference asset, and intraday indicative                Purge Ports                                           opening imbalance, Flash, PIM, Solicitation and
                                                                                                                                                              Facilitation or other information); (2) Options
                                                values, and the applicability of                                                                              Symbol Directory Messages; (3) System Event
                                                                                                        October 16, 2017.
                                                Exchange rules specified in the filing                                                                        Messages (e.g., start of messages, start of system
                                                                                                           Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the                hours, start of quoting, start of opening); (4) Option
                                                  31 The  Exchange represents that the Fund will        Securities Exchange Act of 1934                       Trading Action Messages (e.g., halts, resumes); (5)
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES




                                                include appropriate risk disclosure in its offering     (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2               Execution Messages; (6) Quote Messages (quote/
                                                documents, including leveraging risk. Leveraging        notice is hereby given that on October                sweep messages, risk protection triggers or purge
                                                risk is the risk that certain transactions of a fund,                                                         notifications).
                                                                                                                                                                 4 SQF Purge is a specific port for the SQF
                                                including a fund’s use of derivatives, may give rise      32 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).                             interface that only receives and notifies of purge
                                                to leverage, causing a fund to be more volatile than      33 15
                                                if it had not been leveraged. To mitigate leveraging            U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).                             requests from the market maker.
                                                                                                          34 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
                                                risk, the Adviser will segregate or earmark liquid                                                               5 The term ‘‘Market Makers’’ refers to
                                                                                                          1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                assets or otherwise cover the transactions that give                                                          ‘‘Competitive Market Makers’’ and ‘‘Primary Market
                                                rise to such risk.                                        2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.                                 Makers’’ collectively. See ISE Rule 100(a)(25).



                                           VerDate Sep<11>2014   16:22 Oct 19, 2017   Jkt 244001   PO 00000   Frm 00080   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\20OCN1.SGM   20OCN1


                                                48866                         Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices

                                                system to the Nasdaq INET                               (‘‘Fixed Fee’’) in lieu of the API Session            time period between July 3, 2017 and
                                                architecture.6 This technology re-                      Fee. This Fixed Fee will be assessed to               September 29, 2017 to monitor the
                                                platform included the adoption of new                   these Market Makers from July 3, 2017                 manner in which all Market Makers
                                                connectivity options, including SQF                     through September 29, 2017, and                       connect to the new INET trading system,
                                                and SQF Purge Ports,7 which are the                     applies both to API sessions and SQF                  and would reassess whether the related
                                                same as the connectivity options                        ports used to connect to Nasdaq ISE.                  fees assessed to Market Makers were
                                                currently used to connect to the                        The Fixed Fee will be charged for all of              adequate and reasonable.15 During this
                                                Exchange’s affiliates, including Nasdaq                 the API sessions and SQF ports used in                three-month time frame, the Exchange
                                                GEMX (‘‘GEMX’’), Nasdaq Options                         a given month during this time period,                has looked at the manner in which all
                                                Market (‘‘NOM’’), Nasdaq BX (‘‘BX’’),                   not per port.’’                                       Market Makers connect to INET to
                                                and Nasdaq Phlx (‘‘Phlx’’).8 During the                    As discussed above, the Exchange                   determine the proposed $1,100 SQF and
                                                migration period, Market Makers had to                  completed its migration to INET, and                  SQF Purge Port Fees, and believes that
                                                use both old application programming                    the old API Ports have accordingly been               these fees are adequate and reasonable
                                                interface (‘‘API’’) sessions (‘‘old API                 eliminated and only the new SQF Ports                 in light of how all Market Makers use
                                                Ports’’) and new SQF Ports to connect                   are being utilized. As such, these                    these ports to access the Exchange.
                                                to the Exchange.9 To help its members                   instances of the migration                            Furthermore, the Exchange believes that
                                                transition through the migration period,                accommodation language are no longer                  assessing all Market Makers the
                                                the Exchange filed a fee proposal                       needed and are therefore being deleted.               proposed fees is reasonable because
                                                regarding the old API Ports and the new                    The Exchange also seeks to amend                   members no longer have connectivity to
                                                SQF Ports.10 As part of that filing, the                Section V.D of the Schedule of Fees to                the old Exchange architecture (and
                                                Exchange added the following language                   increase the monthly $1,000 SQF Port                  therefore no longer need to maintain
                                                in Section V of the Schedule of Fees in                 Fee to $1,100 per SQF Port and to begin               two sets of ports), and are using only the
                                                order to avoid double charging Market                   assessing a monthly $1,100 SQF Purge                  new SQF Ports to connect to the
                                                Makers who were using both the old                      Port Fee per SQF Purge Port. The                      Exchange.
                                                and new connectivity options to access                  proposed SQF and SQF Purge Port Fees                     In addition, the Exchange believes
                                                the Exchange while also allowing the                    will apply to all Market Makers. The                  that the proposed SQF and SQF Purge
                                                Exchange to recoup the costs of                         Exchange believes that its pricing                    Port Fees of $1,100 per port, per month
                                                supporting its architecture (‘‘migration                remains competitive.                                  are reasonable because they are in line
                                                accommodation language’’):                                                                                    with the fees assessed by other
                                                   (1) In Section V.D of the Schedule of                2. Statutory Basis                                    exchanges. For example, GEMX assesses
                                                Fees, it is currently noted for the                        The Exchange believes that its                     a fee of $1,250 per port, per month for
                                                monthly $1,000 SQF Port Fee that: ‘‘A                   proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)              SQF and SQF Purge Ports today.16 The
                                                Market Maker who was not subject to                     of the Act,11 in general, and furthers the            Exchange also notes that Bats BZX
                                                the API Session Fee in Section V.C.1                    objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5)            Exchange, Inc. (‘‘Bats BZX’’) assesses a
                                                prior to July 3, 2017 will be assessed the              of the Act,12 in particular, in that it               $1,500 fee to its market makers for Ports
                                                above SQF Port Fee from July 3, 2017                    provides for the equitable allocation of              with Bulk Quoting Capabilities.17
                                                through September 29, 2017. This SQF                    reasonable dues, fees, and other charges                 The Exchange also believes that the
                                                Port Fee will not apply to Market                       among members and issuers and other                   proposed fees are an equitable
                                                Makers that are subject to the Fixed Fee                persons using any facility, and is not                allocation and not unfairly
                                                in Section V.E.’’                                       designed to permit unfair                             discriminatory because the Exchange
                                                   (2) Section V.E of the Schedule of                   discrimination between customers,                     will apply these fees uniformly to all
                                                Fees presently reads: ‘‘Market Makers                   issuers, brokers, or dealers.                         similarly situated members.
                                                that are subject to the API Session Fee                    As discussed above, the Exchange                      The Exchange believes that deleting
                                                in Section V.C.1 as of July 3, 2017 will                added the migration accommodation                     the migration accommodation language
                                                be subject a monthly fixed fee that                     language and the associated Fixed Fee                 from Section V of the Schedule of Fees
                                                reflects the average of API Session Fees                and $1,000 SQF Port Fee in Section V                  is reasonable, equitable and not unfairly
                                                assessed to that Market Maker for the                   of the Schedule of Fees in order to avoid             discriminatory because the migration is
                                                months of March, April, and May 2017                    double charging members while also                    now completed and the migration
                                                                                                        allowing the Exchange to recoup the                   accommodation language is therefore no
                                                   6 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80432
                                                                                                        costs of supporting its architecture. At              longer needed. Deleting outdated rule
                                                (April 11, 2017), 82 FR 18191 (April 17, 2017) (SR–
                                                                                                        the time these fees were put into place,              text will bring greater clarity to the
                                                ISE–2017–03).                                                                                                 Exchange’s Schedule of Fees.
                                                   7 When the Exchange adopted these new ports, it      the Exchange recognized that there may
                                                initially did not assess any fees so that members       not be a one-to-one relationship                      B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                would not be double charged for connectivity to the     between the number of the old API Ports               Statement on Burden on Competition
                                                old Exchange architecture and the new Nasdaq            and the new SQF Ports needed to
                                                INET architecture. See Securities Exchange Act                                                                  The Exchange does not believe that
                                                Release No. 81095 (July 7, 2017), 82 FR 32409 (July     connect to the Exchange due to the
                                                                                                                                                              the proposed rule change will impose
                                                13, 2017) (SR–ISE–2017–62).                             different infrastructure of the two
                                                                                                                                                              any burden on competition not
                                                   8 See GEMX Schedule of Fees, IV. Access              trading systems.13 The Exchange
                                                Services, Port Fees, 3. Ports; NOM Rules, Chapter                                                             necessary or appropriate in furtherance
                                                                                                        expected, however, that the quoting
                                                XV Options Pricing, Sec. 3 NOM—Ports and other                                                                of the purposes of the Act. As explained
                                                                                                        needs and other trading activity of
                                                Services; BX Rules, Chapter XV Options Pricing,                                                               above, the proposed SQF and SQF Purge
                                                Sec. 3 BX—Ports and other Services; and Phlx            Market Makers would remain relatively
                                                                                                                                                              Port Fees are assessed uniformly to all
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                                                Pricing Schedule, VII. Other Member Fees, B. Port       constant throughout the migration and
                                                Fees.                                                                                                         Market Makers at a rate that is
                                                                                                        across the two platforms.14 As such, the
                                                   9 The Exchange migrated on a symbol by symbol
                                                                                                        Exchange stated that it would use the                   15 Id.at 35858.
                                                basis thereby requiring the use of both the old API
                                                Ports on T7 and the new SQF Ports on INET for a                                                                 16 See GEMX Schedule of Fees, IV. Access
                                                                                                          11 15  U.S.C. 78f(b).
                                                period of time.                                                                                               Services, Port Fees, 3. Ports.
                                                   10 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81213       12 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).                       17 See Bats BZX Fee Schedule at: https://
                                                                                                          13 See Prior SQF Filing at 35856.
                                                (July 26, 2017), 82 FR 35855 (August 1, 2017) (SR–                                                            www.bats.com/us/options/membership/fee_
                                                ISE–2017–73) (hereinafter ‘‘Prior SQF Filing’’).          14 Id.                                              schedule/bzx/.



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                                                                                     Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices                                      48867

                                                representative of their typical usage of                   arguments concerning the foregoing,                   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
                                                the new ports. Moreover, the proposed                      including whether the proposed rule                   COMMISSION
                                                fees are in line with the fees assessed by                 change is consistent with the Act.
                                                other exchanges for the same or similar                    Comments may be submitted by any of                   [Release No. 34–81878; File No. SR–ISE–
                                                connectivity.                                              the following methods:                                2017–88]
                                                  The Exchange notes that it operates in
                                                a highly competitive market in which                       Electronic Comments
                                                                                                                                                                 Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq
                                                market participants can readily favor                        • Use the Commission’s Internet                     ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and
                                                competing venues if they deem fee                          comment form (http://www.sec.gov/                     Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
                                                levels at a particular venue to be                         rules/sro.shtml); or                                  Rule Change To Amend the Schedule
                                                excessive, or rebate opportunities                           • Send an email to rule-comments@
                                                available at other venues to be more                                                                             of Fees To Increase the Crossing Fee
                                                                                                           sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–               Cap
                                                favorable. In such an environment, the                     ISE–2017–87 on the subject line.
                                                Exchange must continually adjust its                                                                             October 16, 2017.
                                                fees to remain competitive with other                      Paper Comments
                                                exchanges and with alternative trading                                                                              Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
                                                                                                              • Send paper comments in triplicate                Securities Exchange Act of 1934
                                                systems that have been exempted from                       to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities
                                                compliance with the statutory standards                                                                          (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,2
                                                                                                           and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street                 notice is hereby given that on October
                                                applicable to exchanges. Because                           NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
                                                competitors are free to modify their own                                                                         2, 2017, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or
                                                fees in response, and because market                       All submissions should refer to File                  ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
                                                participants may readily adjust their                      Number SR–ISE–2017–87. This file                      and Exchange Commission
                                                order routing practices, the Exchange                      number should be included on the                      (‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
                                                believes that the degree to which fee                      subject line if email is used. To help the            change as described in Items I and II
                                                changes in this market may impose any                      Commission process and review your                    below, which Items have been prepared
                                                burden on competition is extremely                         comments more efficiently, please use                 by the Exchange. The Commission is
                                                limited. In sum, if the changes proposed                   only one method. The Commission will                  publishing this notice to solicit
                                                herein are unattractive to market                          post all comments on the Commission’s                 comments on the proposed rule change
                                                participants, it is likely that the                        Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/
                                                                                                                                                                 from interested persons.
                                                Exchange will lose market share as a                       rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
                                                result. Accordingly, the Exchange does                     submission, all subsequent                            I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                not believe that the proposed fee                          amendments, all written statements                    Statement of the Terms of Substance of
                                                changes will impair the ability of                         with respect to the proposed rule                     the Proposed Rule Change
                                                members or competing order execution                       change that are filed with the
                                                venues to maintain their competitive                       Commission, and all written                              The Exchange proposes to amend the
                                                standing in the financial markets.                         communications relating to the                        Schedule of Fees to increase the
                                                                                                           proposed rule change between the                      Crossing Fee Cap for members that do
                                                C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                          Commission and any person, other than                 not commit in advance to paying the
                                                Statement on Comments on the                               those that may be withheld from the                   full Crossing Fee Cap at the end of each
                                                Proposed Rule Change Received From                         public in accordance with the                         month.
                                                Members, Participants, or Others                           provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be                      The text of the proposed rule change
                                                  No written comments were either                          available for Web site viewing and                    is available on the Exchange’s Web site
                                                solicited or received.                                     printing in the Commission’s Public
                                                                                                                                                                 at www.ise.com, at the principal office
                                                                                                           Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,
                                                III. Date of Effectiveness of the                                                                                of the Exchange, and at the
                                                                                                           Washington, DC 20549, on official
                                                Proposed Rule Change and Timing for                                                                              Commission’s Public Reference Room.
                                                                                                           business days between the hours of
                                                Commission Action
                                                                                                           10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the                II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                   The foregoing rule change has become                    filing also will be available for                     Statement of the Purpose of, and
                                                effective pursuant to Section                              inspection and copying at the principal               Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
                                                19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.18 At any time                  office of the Exchange. All comments                  Change
                                                within 60 days of the filing of the                        received will be posted without change;
                                                proposed rule change, the Commission                       the Commission does not edit personal                   In its filing with the Commission, the
                                                summarily may temporarily suspend                          identifying information from                          Exchange included statements
                                                such rule change if it appears to the                      submissions. You should submit only                   concerning the purpose of and basis for
                                                Commission that such action is: (i)                        information that you wish to make                     the proposed rule change and discussed
                                                Necessary or appropriate in the public                     available publicly. All submissions                   any comments it received on the
                                                interest; (ii) for the protection of                       should refer to File Number SR–ISE–                   proposed rule change. The text of these
                                                investors; or (iii) otherwise in                           2017–87 and should be submitted on or                 statements may be examined at the
                                                furtherance of the purposes of the Act.                    before November 13, 2017.                             places specified in Item IV below. The
                                                If the Commission takes such action, the                                                                         Exchange has prepared summaries, set
                                                                                                             For the Commission, by the Division of
                                                Commission shall institute proceedings                     Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated            forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES




                                                to determine whether the proposed rule                     authority.19                                          the most significant aspects of such
                                                should be approved or disapproved.                         Eduardo A. Aleman,                                    statements.
                                                IV. Solicitation of Comments                               Assistant Secretary.
                                                  Interested persons are invited to                        [FR Doc. 2017–22757 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am]
                                                submit written data, views, and                            BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
                                                                                                                                                                   1 15   U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                  18 15   U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).                           19 17   CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                          2 17   CFR 240.19b–4.



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Document Created: 2017-10-20 00:06:21
Document Modified: 2017-10-20 00:06:21
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 Citation82 FR 48865 

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