82 FR 49429 - Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment To Modify the OPRA Fee Schedule To Amend the Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fee

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 205 (October 25, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49429-49431]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23114]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-81899; File No. SR-OPRA-2017-01]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment To Modify the OPRA Fee Schedule To 
Amend the Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fee

October 19, 2017.
    Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on September 27, 2017, the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'') 
submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') an 
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale 
Reports and Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The OPRA Plan 
amendment would implement changes to the Professional Subscriber 
Device-Based Fee effective January 1, 2018. The Commission is 
publishing this notice to provide interested persons an opportunity to 
submit written comments on the OPRA Plan amendment.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by 
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608 
thereunder. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (March 18, 
1981), 22 S.E.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 1981). The full text of the 
OPRA Plan and a list of its fifteen participants are available at 
http://www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan provides for the collection 
and dissemination of last sale and quotation information on options 
that are traded on the participant exchanges.
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I. Description and Purpose of the Plan Amendment

(a) Fee Schedule Amendments

    The purpose of the proposed Fee Schedule amendments is to specify 
OPRA's Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fee effective January 1, 
2018 and make conforming changes in OPRA's Enterprise Rate Professional 
Subscriber Fee. OPRA's Enterprise Rate Professional Subscriber Fee is 
available to those Professional Subscribers that

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elect that rate in place of the regular OPRA device-based fees.\4\
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    \4\ OPRA's Enterprise Rate is based on the number of a 
Professional Subscriber's U.S. registered representatives and 
independent investment advisers who contract with the Subscriber to 
provide advisory services to the Subscriber's customers.
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    Specifically, it is proposed, effective January 1, 2018: To 
increase the current $30.50 monthly per device fee by $1.00; to 
increase the Enterprise Rate, currently a monthly fee of $30.50 times 
the number of a Professional Subscriber's U.S.-based registered 
representatives, to be a monthly fee of $31.50 times the number of the 
Subscriber's U.S.-based registered representatives; and to make 
conforming changes to the minimum monthly fee under the Enterprise 
Rate. ``Professional Subscribers'' are persons who subscribe to OPRA 
data, do not qualify for the reduced fees charged to ``Nonprofessional 
Subscribers,'' and do not redistribute the OPRA data to third parties. 
OPRA permits the counting of ``User IDs'' as a surrogate for counting 
``devices'' for purposes of its Professional Subscriber Device-based 
Fees.\5\
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    \5\ See footnote 2 in the OPRA Fee Schedule and OPRA's Policies 
with respect to Device-based Fees.
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    The number of devices reported to OPRA as subject to Professional 
Subscriber Device-Based Fees has been steadily trending downwards over 
many years. In 2008, OPRA received device-based fees, including 
enterprise fees, with respect to approximately 210,500 devices. In 
2015, OPRA received device-based fees, including enterprise fees, with 
respect to approximately 141,300 devices, and in 2016 OPRA received 
device-based fees, including enterprise fees, with respect to 
approximately 137,100 devices. OPRA is receiving device-based fees in 
the third calendar quarter of 2017 with respect to approximately 
128,500 devices--already a reduction of approximately 6.3% from 2016. 
OPRA believes that this long-term downward trend is the result of the 
increasing use of trading algorithms and automated trading platforms 
and other fundamental changes in the securities industry, and OPRA 
anticipates that this trend is likely to continue.
    The proposed increase in the Professional Subscriber Device-Based 
Fees is consistent with OPRA's past practice of making incremental 
$1.00 increases in its monthly Professional Subscriber Device-Based 
Fees,\6\ and OPRA believes that OPRA's Professional Subscribers should 
not be surprised by the increase. The proposed increase in the 
Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fee--which is an increase of 
approximately 3.3%--will partially offset the impact on revenue of the 
reduction in the number of devices in 2017 as compared to 2016.
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    \6\ The year 2015 was an exception: For 2015, OPRA implemented 
an increase of $1.50 in its Professional Subscriber Device-Based 
Fee, because during 2015 one of OPRA's member exchanges initiated 
after-hours trading, causing OPRA to incur additional expenses 
associated with data dissemination during expanded trading hours. 
OPRA implemented $1.00/month increases in its Professional 
Subscriber Device-Based Fee for each of the years 2008-2014 and for 
the years 2016 and 2017. See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 
72826, 79 FR 48777 (August 18, 2014) (File No. SR-OPRA-2014-06), 
77585, 81 FR 22668 (April 18, 2016) (File No. SR-OPRA-2015-02), and 
79152, 81 FR 75462 (October 31, 2016) (File No. SR-OPRA-2016-01).
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    The text of the amendment to the OPRA Plan is available at OPRA, 
the Commission's Public Reference Room, the OPRA Web site at http://opradata.com, and on the Commission's Web site at www.sec.gov.

(b) Implementation of the OPRA Plan Amendment

    Pursuant to paragraph (b)(3)(i) of Rule 608 of Regulation NMS under 
the Act, OPRA designated this amendment as establishing or changing 
fees or other charges collected on behalf of all of the OPRA 
participant exchanges in connection with access to or use of OPRA 
facilities. OPRA proposes to put the changes in the Professional 
Subscriber Device-Based Fee into effect as of January 1, 2018. 
Implementation of the changes in the Professional Subscriber Device-
Based Fee on January 1 is consistent with OPRA's prior practice with 
respect to changes in this fee, and OPRA represents that this will 
provide ample opportunity to give persons subject to this fee advance 
notice of the change.

(c) Phases of Development and Implementation

    Not applicable.

(d) Impact on Competition

    OPRA believes that the proposed amendment will impose no burdens on 
competition that are not justified in light of the purposes of the Act.

(e) Written Understanding or Agreements Among the Plan Participants

    Not applicable.

(f) Approval of the Proposed Amendment

    OPRA represents that the proposed amendments to the OPRA Fee 
Schedule were approved in accordance with the provisions of the OPRA 
Plan.
    The Commission may summarily abrogate the amendment within sixty 
days of its filing and require refiling and approval of the amendment 
by Commission order pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2) under the Act \7\ if it 
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or the 
maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments to, and 
perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system, or otherwise in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.\8\
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    \7\ See 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2).
    \8\ See 17 CFR 242.608(b)(3)(iii).
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II. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the OPRA Plan 
amendment 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 No. SR-OPRA-2017-01 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-OPRA-2017-01. 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 OPRA Plan amendment that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the OPRA Plan amendment between the Commission and any person, other 
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and 
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available 
for inspection and copying at the principal

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office of OPRA. All comments received will be posted without change. 
Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit 
personal identifying information from comment submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-OPRA-2017-01 and should be 
submitted on or before November 15, 2017.

    By the Commission.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-23114 Filed 10-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P