83_FR_13046 83 FR 12988 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Transaction Fees at Rule 7018 To Charge No Transaction Fee for Execution of Midpoint Extended Life Orders

83 FR 12988 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Transaction Fees at Rule 7018 To Charge No Transaction Fee for Execution of Midpoint Extended Life Orders

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 58 (March 26, 2018)

Page Range12988-12990
FR Document2018-06012

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 58 (Monday, March 26, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 58 (Monday, March 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12988-12990]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06012]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-82905; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2018-021]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To 
Amend Transaction Fees at Rule 7018 To Charge No Transaction Fee for 
Execution of Midpoint Extended Life Orders

March 20, 2018.
    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 March 9, 2018, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq'' 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 amend the Exchange's transaction fees at 
Rule 7018 to charge no transaction fee for execution of Midpoint 
Extended Life Orders. While these amendments are effective upon filing, 
the Exchange has designated the proposed amendments to be operative on 
March 12, 2018.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
website at http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.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 purpose of the proposed rule change is to amend the Exchange's 
transaction fees at Rule 7018 to charge no transaction fee for 
execution of Midpoint Extended Life Orders. On March 7, 2018, the 
Commission approved the Exchange's proposal to adopt a new Order Type, 
the Midpoint Extended Life Order.\3\ The Midpoint Extended Life Order 
is an Order Type with a Non-Display Order Attribute that is priced at 
the midpoint between the NBBO and that will not be eligible to execute 
until the Holding Period of one half of a second has passed after 
acceptance of the Order by the System. Once a Midpoint Extended Life 
Order becomes eligible to execute by existing unchanged for the Holding 
Period, the Order may only execute against other eligible Midpoint 
Extended Life Orders. The Exchange will begin offer Midpoint Extended 
Life Orders on March 12, 2018.\4\
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82825 (March 7, 
2018) (SR-NASDAQ-2017-074) (pending publication in the Federal 
Register).
    \4\ See http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/TraderNews.aspx?id=ETA2018-20.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under Rule 7018, the Exchange assesses fees for Orders entered into 
the Nasdaq System. The fees cover Orders in all three tapes and in 
securities both priced $1 and above (Rule 7018(a)), and below $1 (Rule 
7018(b)). The Exchange is proposing initially to not charge a 
transaction fee for execution of Midpoint Extended Life Orders. 
Allowing transactions to occur at no cost will promote use of the 
Midpoint Extended Life Order, which will help bring liquidity in 
Midpoint Extended Life Orders to the Exchange and promote market 
quality. The Exchange plans to adopt fees for Midpoint Extended Life 
Orders in the future and will do so through the SEC rulemaking 
process.\5\ Accordingly, the Exchange is proposing to amend Rule 
7018(a)(1)-(3) to note that members executing a Midpoint Extended Life 
Order will be

[[Page 12989]]

assessed a charge of $0.0000 per share executed. The Exchange is 
amending Rule 7018(b) to note that members executing a Midpoint 
Extended Life Order will be assessed a charge of 0.0% of the total 
transaction cost.\6\ The Exchange is also adding rule text to an 
existing fee under Rule 7018(b) to make it clear that Midpoint Extended 
Life Orders are excluded from the fee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ Id.
    \6\ Unlike fees for transactions in securities price at $1 or 
greater, which are assessed on a per share executed basis, fees for 
transactions in securities less than $1 are assessed fees based on a 
percentage of the total transaction cost.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section 
6(b) of the Act,\7\ in general, and furthers the objectives of Sections 
6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\8\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange believes that not charging a fee for executions in 
Midpoint Extended Life Orders is reasonable because the Exchange does 
not currently charge for transactions in other Orders under Rule 7018. 
Specifically, the exchange does not charge a fee for transactions in 
Orders with a RTFY routing Order Attribute.\9\ Such an Order must meet 
the definition of Designated Retail Order, which requires, among other 
things, that the Order not originate from a trading algorithm or any 
other computerized methodology.\10\ Thus, allowing transactions of the 
RTFY Order Attribute at no cost is designed to promote the Exchange as 
a venue for retail investor Orders. Likewise, the Exchange is proposing 
to allow transactions in Midpoint Extended Life Orders at no cost to 
promote use of such Orders and consequently the quality of the market 
in Midpoint Extended Life Orders. As discussed extensively in its 
proposal,\11\ the Exchange believes that the Midpoint Extended Life 
Order is consistent with the Act because it is emblematic of a core 
function of a national securities exchange, namely matching buyers and 
sellers of securities on a transparent and well-regulated market, and 
helping these buyers and sellers come together to receive the best 
execution possible. The Exchange achieves this by permitting Midpoint 
Extended Life Orders to execute solely against other Midpoint Extended 
Life Orders at the midpoint of the NBBO in return for providing market-
improving behavior in the form of a longer-lived midpoint order. 
Accordingly, the Exchange believes that allowing transactions of 
Midpoint Extended Life Orders at no cost is reasonable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ RTFY is a routing option available for an order that 
qualifies as a Designated Retail Order under which orders check the 
System for available shares only if so instructed by the entering 
firm and are thereafter routed to destinations on the System routing 
table. If shares remain unexecuted after routing, they are posted to 
the book. Once on the book, should the order subsequently be locked 
or crossed by another market center, the System will not route the 
order to the locking or crossing market center. RTFY is designed to 
allow orders to participate in the opening, reopening and closing 
process of the primary listing market for a security. See Rule 
4758(a)(1)(A)(v)b.
    \10\ See Rule 7018.
    \11\ See note 3, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange also believes that not charging a fee for executions 
in Midpoint Extended Life Order is an equitable allocation and is not 
unfairly discriminatory because the Exchange will apply the same fee to 
all similarly situated members. The Midpoint Extended Life Order may be 
used by any market participant that is willing to satisfy the 
requirements of the Order Type and therefore qualify for the proposed 
zero fee tiers. Moreover, members not interested in using Midpoint 
Extended Life Orders will continue to have the ability to enter 
midpoint Orders in the Nasdaq System, which have both fees and credits 
associated with their execution.\12\ As noted above, the Exchange 
intends to assess fees for transactions in Midpoint Extended Life 
Orders in the near future,\13\ once it has had time to assess the 
nature of the market in Midpoint Extended Life Orders to determine the 
appropriate fee. Accordingly, the proposed fee does not discriminate in 
any way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ Based on whether the member is removing or adding 
liquidity. See Rule 7018(a)(b).
    \13\ Any fee change will be made by the rule change filing 
process with the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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. In terms of inter-market 
competition, 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 this instance, the proposal to assess no fee for executions of 
Midpoint Extended Life Orders will not place any burden on competition, 
but rather will help launch the proposed new Order Type by making it 
attractive to members that seek to execute at the midpoint with like-
minded members. To the extent the proposal is successful in promoting 
liquidity in Midpoint Extended Life Orders, other markets may be 
incented to provide a competitive response by innovating like the 
Exchange has done in this instance. To the extent the proposal is not 
successful in promoting liquidity in Midpoint Extended Life Orders, it 
would have no meaningful impact on competition as few transactions in 
Midpoint Extended Life Orders would occur. In sum, if the proposal to 
assess no fees for executions of Midpoint Extended Life Orders is 
unattractive to market participants, it is likely that the Exchange 
will not gain any market share as a result and therefore no competitive 
impact. Accordingly, the Exchange does not believe that the proposed 
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.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

[[Page 12990]]

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 rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-NASDAQ-2018-021 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-NASDAQ-2018-021. 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 website (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 website 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 office of the Exchange. 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-NASDAQ-2018-021, and should be submitted 
on or before April 16, 2018.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-06012 Filed 3-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P



                                                12988                              Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2018 / Notices

                                                submission must file that rebuttal by                     comments should be submitted by April                 concerning the purpose of and basis for
                                                April 30, 2018.                                           30, 2018.                                             the proposed rule change and discussed
                                                  The Commission asks that                                  For the Commission, by the Division of              any comments it received on the
                                                commenters address the sufficiency of                     Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated            proposed rule change. The text of these
                                                NSCC’s statements in support of the                       authority.34                                          statements may be examined at the
                                                Proposed Rule Change, which are set                       Eduardo A. Aleman,                                    places specified in Item IV below. The
                                                forth in the Notice,33 in addition to any                 Assistant Secretary.                                  Exchange has prepared summaries, set
                                                other comments they may wish to                           [FR Doc. 2018–06022 Filed 3–23–18; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                                                                                forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
                                                submit about the Proposed Rule Change.                                                                          the most significant aspects of such
                                                                                                          BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
                                                  Comments may be submitted by any                                                                              statements.
                                                of the following methods:
                                                                                                                                                                A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                Electronic Comments                                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                               Statement of the Purpose of, and
                                                  • Use the Commission’s internet                         COMMISSION                                            Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
                                                comment form (http://www.sec.gov/                         [Release No. 34–82905; File No. SR–                   Change
                                                rules/sro.shtml); or                                      NASDAQ–2018–021]                                      1. Purpose
                                                  • Send an email to rule-comments@
                                                sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–                   Self-Regulatory Organizations; The                       The purpose of the proposed rule
                                                NSCC–2017–017 on the subject line.                        Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of                    change is to amend the Exchange’s
                                                                                                          Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of                 transaction fees at Rule 7018 to charge
                                                Paper Comments                                            Proposed Rule Change To Amend                         no transaction fee for execution of
                                                   • Send paper comments in triplicate                    Transaction Fees at Rule 7018 To                      Midpoint Extended Life Orders. On
                                                to Secretary, Securities and Exchange                     Charge No Transaction Fee for                         March 7, 2018, the Commission
                                                Commission, 100 F Street NE,                              Execution of Midpoint Extended Life                   approved the Exchange’s proposal to
                                                Washington, DC 20549–1090.                                Orders                                                adopt a new Order Type, the Midpoint
                                                All submissions should refer to File                                                                            Extended Life Order.3 The Midpoint
                                                                                                          March 20, 2018.                                       Extended Life Order is an Order Type
                                                Number SR–NSCC–2017–017. This file
                                                number should be included on the                             Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the                with a Non-Display Order Attribute that
                                                subject line if email is used. To help the                Securities Exchange Act of 1934                       is priced at the midpoint between the
                                                Commission process and review your                        (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2               NBBO and that will not be eligible to
                                                comments more efficiently, please use                     notice is hereby given that, on March 9,              execute until the Holding Period of one
                                                only one method. The Commission will                      2018, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC                     half of a second has passed after
                                                post all comments on the Commission’s                     (‘‘Nasdaq’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the           acceptance of the Order by the System.
                                                internet website (http://www.sec.gov/                     Securities and Exchange Commission                    Once a Midpoint Extended Life Order
                                                rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the                           (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed              becomes eligible to execute by existing
                                                submission, all subsequent                                rule change as described in Items I, II,              unchanged for the Holding Period, the
                                                amendments, all written statements                        and III below, which Items have been                  Order may only execute against other
                                                with respect to the Proposed Rule                         prepared by the Exchange. The                         eligible Midpoint Extended Life Orders.
                                                Change that are filed with the                            Commission is publishing this notice to               The Exchange will begin offer Midpoint
                                                Commission, and all written                               solicit comments on the proposed rule                 Extended Life Orders on March 12,
                                                communications relating to the                            change from interested persons.                       2018.4
                                                Proposed Rule Change between the                          I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                        Under Rule 7018, the Exchange
                                                Commission and any person, other than                     Statement of the Terms of Substance of                assesses fees for Orders entered into the
                                                those that may be withheld from the                       the Proposed Rule Change                              Nasdaq System. The fees cover Orders
                                                public in accordance with the                                                                                   in all three tapes and in securities both
                                                                                                             The Exchange proposes to amend the                 priced $1 and above (Rule 7018(a)), and
                                                provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
                                                                                                          Exchange’s transaction fees at Rule 7018              below $1 (Rule 7018(b)). The Exchange
                                                available for website viewing and
                                                                                                          to charge no transaction fee for                      is proposing initially to not charge a
                                                printing in the Commission’s Public
                                                                                                          execution of Midpoint Extended Life                   transaction fee for execution of
                                                Reference Room, 100 F Street NE,
                                                                                                          Orders. While these amendments are                    Midpoint Extended Life Orders.
                                                Washington, DC 20549 on official
                                                                                                          effective upon filing, the Exchange has               Allowing transactions to occur at no
                                                business days between the hours of
                                                                                                          designated the proposed amendments to                 cost will promote use of the Midpoint
                                                10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
                                                                                                          be operative on March 12, 2018.                       Extended Life Order, which will help
                                                filing also will be available for                            The text of the proposed rule change
                                                inspection and copying at the principal                                                                         bring liquidity in Midpoint Extended
                                                                                                          is available on the Exchange’s website at             Life Orders to the Exchange and
                                                office of NSCC and on DTCC’s website                      http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com, at the
                                                (http://dtcc.com/legal/sec-rule-                                                                                promote market quality. The Exchange
                                                                                                          principal office of the Exchange, and at              plans to adopt fees for Midpoint
                                                filings.aspx). All comments received                      the Commission’s Public Reference
                                                will be posted without change. Persons                                                                          Extended Life Orders in the future and
                                                                                                          Room.                                                 will do so through the SEC rulemaking
                                                submitting comments are cautioned that
                                                we do not redact or edit personal                         II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                    process.5 Accordingly, the Exchange is
                                                identifying information from comment                      Statement of the Purpose of, and                      proposing to amend Rule 7018(a)(1)–(3)
                                                                                                          Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule                to note that members executing a
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                submissions. You should submit only
                                                information that you wish to make                         Change                                                Midpoint Extended Life Order will be
                                                available publicly. All submissions                          In its filing with the Commission, the               3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82825
                                                should refer to File Number SR–NSCC–                      Exchange included statements                          (March 7, 2018) (SR–NASDAQ–2017–074) (pending
                                                2017–017 and should be submitted on                                                                             publication in the Federal Register).
                                                or before April 16, 2018. Rebuttal                          34 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(57).                            4 See http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/
                                                                                                            1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).                              TraderNews.aspx?id=ETA2018-20.
                                                  33 See   Notice, supra note 4.                            2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.                                   5 Id.




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                                                                                Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2018 / Notices                                                12989

                                                assessed a charge of $0.0000 per share                    proposal,11 the Exchange believes that                 environment, the Exchange must
                                                executed. The Exchange is amending                        the Midpoint Extended Life Order is                    continually adjust its fees to remain
                                                Rule 7018(b) to note that members                         consistent with the Act because it is                  competitive with other exchanges and
                                                executing a Midpoint Extended Life                        emblematic of a core function of a                     with alternative trading systems that
                                                Order will be assessed a charge of 0.0%                   national securities exchange, namely                   have been exempted from compliance
                                                of the total transaction cost.6 The                       matching buyers and sellers of securities              with the statutory standards applicable
                                                Exchange is also adding rule text to an                   on a transparent and well-regulated                    to exchanges. Because competitors are
                                                existing fee under Rule 7018(b) to make                   market, and helping these buyers and                   free to modify their own fees in
                                                it clear that Midpoint Extended Life                      sellers come together to receive the best              response, and because market
                                                Orders are excluded from the fee.                         execution possible. The Exchange                       participants may readily adjust their
                                                                                                          achieves this by permitting Midpoint                   order routing practices, the Exchange
                                                2. Statutory Basis                                                                                               believes that the degree to which fee
                                                                                                          Extended Life Orders to execute solely
                                                   The Exchange believes that its                         against other Midpoint Extended Life                   changes in this market may impose any
                                                proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)                  Orders at the midpoint of the NBBO in                  burden on competition is extremely
                                                of the Act,7 in general, and furthers the                 return for providing market-improving                  limited.
                                                objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5)                behavior in the form of a longer-lived                    In this instance, the proposal to assess
                                                of the Act,8 in particular, in that it                    midpoint order. Accordingly, the                       no fee for executions of Midpoint
                                                provides for the equitable allocation of                  Exchange believes that allowing                        Extended Life Orders will not place any
                                                reasonable dues, fees and other charges                   transactions of Midpoint Extended Life                 burden on competition, but rather will
                                                among members and issuers and other                       Orders at no cost is reasonable.                       help launch the proposed new Order
                                                persons using any facility, and is not                       The Exchange also believes that not                 Type by making it attractive to members
                                                designed to permit unfair                                 charging a fee for executions in                       that seek to execute at the midpoint
                                                discrimination between customers,                         Midpoint Extended Life Order is an                     with like-minded members. To the
                                                issuers, brokers, or dealers.                             equitable allocation and is not unfairly               extent the proposal is successful in
                                                   The Exchange believes that not                         discriminatory because the Exchange                    promoting liquidity in Midpoint
                                                charging a fee for executions in                          will apply the same fee to all similarly               Extended Life Orders, other markets
                                                Midpoint Extended Life Orders is                          situated members. The Midpoint                         may be incented to provide a
                                                reasonable because the Exchange does                      Extended Life Order may be used by any                 competitive response by innovating like
                                                not currently charge for transactions in                  market participant that is willing to                  the Exchange has done in this instance.
                                                other Orders under Rule 7018.                             satisfy the requirements of the Order                  To the extent the proposal is not
                                                Specifically, the exchange does not                       Type and therefore qualify for the                     successful in promoting liquidity in
                                                charge a fee for transactions in Orders                   proposed zero fee tiers. Moreover,                     Midpoint Extended Life Orders, it
                                                with a RTFY routing Order Attribute.9                     members not interested in using                        would have no meaningful impact on
                                                Such an Order must meet the definition                    Midpoint Extended Life Orders will                     competition as few transactions in
                                                of Designated Retail Order, which                         continue to have the ability to enter                  Midpoint Extended Life Orders would
                                                requires, among other things, that the                    midpoint Orders in the Nasdaq System,                  occur. In sum, if the proposal to assess
                                                Order not originate from a trading                        which have both fees and credits                       no fees for executions of Midpoint
                                                algorithm or any other computerized                       associated with their execution.12 As                  Extended Life Orders is unattractive to
                                                methodology.10 Thus, allowing                             noted above, the Exchange intends to                   market participants, it is likely that the
                                                transactions of the RTFY Order                            assess fees for transactions in Midpoint               Exchange will not gain any market share
                                                Attribute at no cost is designed to                       Extended Life Orders in the near                       as a result and therefore no competitive
                                                promote the Exchange as a venue for                       future,13 once it has had time to assess               impact. Accordingly, the Exchange does
                                                retail investor Orders. Likewise, the                     the nature of the market in Midpoint                   not believe that the proposed changes
                                                Exchange is proposing to allow                            Extended Life Orders to determine the                  will impair the ability of members or
                                                transactions in Midpoint Extended Life                    appropriate fee. Accordingly, the                      competing order execution venues to
                                                Orders at no cost to promote use of such                  proposed fee does not discriminate in                  maintain their competitive standing in
                                                Orders and consequently the quality of                    any way.                                               the financial markets.
                                                the market in Midpoint Extended Life                                                                             C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                Orders. As discussed extensively in its                   B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                                                                          Statement on Burden on Competition                     Statement on Comments on the
                                                                                                                                                                 Proposed Rule Change Received From
                                                  6 Unlike fees for transactions in securities price at     The Exchange does not believe that                   Members, Participants, or Others
                                                $1 or greater, which are assessed on a per share          the proposed rule change will impose
                                                executed basis, fees for transactions in securities       any burden on competition not                            No written comments were either
                                                less than $1 are assessed fees based on a percentage
                                                                                                          necessary or appropriate in furtherance                solicited or received.
                                                of the total transaction cost.
                                                  7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).                                     of the purposes of the Act. In terms of                III. Date of Effectiveness of the
                                                  8 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).                          inter-market competition, the Exchange                 Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
                                                  9 RTFY is a routing option available for an order       notes that it operates in a highly                     Commission Action
                                                that qualifies as a Designated Retail Order under         competitive market in which market
                                                which orders check the System for available shares                                                                  The foregoing rule change has become
                                                only if so instructed by the entering firm and are
                                                                                                          participants can readily favor competing               effective pursuant to Section
                                                thereafter routed to destinations on the System           venues if they deem fee levels at a                    19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.14
                                                routing table. If shares remain unexecuted after          particular venue to be excessive, or
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                routing, they are posted to the book. Once on the
                                                                                                                                                                    At any time within 60 days of the
                                                                                                          rebate opportunities available at other                filing of the proposed rule change, the
                                                book, should the order subsequently be locked or
                                                crossed by another market center, the System will
                                                                                                          venues to be more favorable. In such an                Commission summarily may
                                                not route the order to the locking or crossing market                                                            temporarily suspend such rule change if
                                                                                                            11 See note 3, supra.
                                                center. RTFY is designed to allow orders to
                                                participate in the opening, reopening and closing           12 Based  on whether the member is removing or
                                                                                                                                                                 it appears to the Commission that such
                                                process of the primary listing market for a security.     adding liquidity. See Rule 7018(a)(b).                 action is: (i) Necessary or appropriate in
                                                See Rule 4758(a)(1)(A)(v)b.                                  13 Any fee change will be made by the rule change
                                                  10 See Rule 7018.                                       filing process with the Commission.                     14 15   U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).



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                                                12990                         Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2018 / Notices

                                                the public interest; (ii) for the protection            should be submitted on or before April                   This order institutes proceedings,
                                                of investors; or (iii) otherwise in                     16, 2018.                                                pursuant to Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the
                                                furtherance of the purposes of the Act.                   For the Commission, by the Division of                 Act,7 to determine whether to approve
                                                If the Commission takes such action, the                Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated               or disapprove the Proposed Rule
                                                Commission shall institute proceedings                  authority.15                                             Change.
                                                to determine whether the proposed rule                  Eduardo A. Aleman,
                                                should be approved or disapproved.                                                                               II. Summary of the Proposed Rule
                                                                                                        Assistant Secretary.                                     Change 8
                                                IV. Solicitation of Comments                            [FR Doc. 2018–06012 Filed 3–23–18; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                                                                                    As described in the Notice,9 the
                                                                                                        BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
                                                  Interested persons are invited to                                                                              proposed rule change consists of
                                                submit written data, views, and                                                                                  modifications to FICC’s Government
                                                arguments concerning the foregoing,                                                                              Securities Division (‘‘GSD’’) Rulebook
                                                                                                        SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
                                                including whether the proposed rule                                                                              (‘‘GSD Rules’’) and Mortgage-Backed
                                                                                                        COMMISSION
                                                change is consistent with the Act.                                                                               Securities Division (‘‘MBSD’’ and,
                                                Comments may be submitted by any of                     [Release No. 34–82909; File No. SR–FICC–                 together with GSD, the ‘‘Divisions’’ and,
                                                the following methods:                                  2017–022]                                                each, a ‘‘Division’’) Clearing Rules
                                                Electronic Comments                                     Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed                     (‘‘MBSD Rules,’’ and collectively with
                                                                                                                                                                 the GSD Rules, the ‘‘Rules’’) in order to
                                                  • Use the Commission’s internet                       Income Clearing Corporation; Order
                                                                                                                                                                 amend provisions in the Rules regarding
                                                comment form (http://www.sec.gov/                       Instituting Proceedings To Determine
                                                                                                        Whether To Approve or Disapprove a                       loss allocation as well as make other
                                                rules/sro.shtml); or                                                                                             changes, as described in greater detail
                                                  • Send an email to rule-comments@                     Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
                                                                                                        Loss Allocation Rules and Make Other                     below.
                                                sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–                                                                             FICC proposes to revise the Rules to
                                                NASDAQ–2018–021 on the subject line.                    Changes
                                                                                                                                                                 primarily change (i) the loss allocation
                                                Paper Comments                                          March 20, 2018.                                          process,10 (ii) the loss allocation
                                                   • Send paper comments in triplicate                                                                           governance for Declared Non-Default
                                                                                                        I. Introduction
                                                to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities                                                                        Loss Events,11 and (iii) the application
                                                                                                           On December 18, 2017, Fixed Income                    of the MBSD Clearing Fund.12
                                                and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street                   Clearing Corporation (‘‘FICC’’) filed
                                                NE, Washington, DC 20549–1090.                          with the Securities and Exchange                         A. Loss Allocation Process
                                                All submissions should refer to File                    Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant                       FICC states that the Divisions would
                                                Number SR–NASDAQ–2018–021. This                         to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities                    retain the current core loss allocation
                                                file number should be included on the                   Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule                process.13 However, FICC proposes to
                                                subject line if email is used. To help the              19b–4 thereunder,2 proposed rule                         revise Rule 4 (Clearing Fund and Loss
                                                Commission process and review your                      change SR–FICC–2017–022 to amend                         Allocation) of each Division’s Rules to
                                                comments more efficiently, please use                   the loss allocation rules and make other                 make five key changes to FICC’s loss
                                                only one method. The Commission will                    changes (‘‘Proposed Rule Change’’).3                     allocation process.
                                                post all comments on the Commission’s                   The Proposed Rule Change was                                First, FICC proposes to replace the
                                                internet website (http://www.sec.gov/                   published for comment in the Federal                     calculation of its corporate contribution
                                                rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the                         Register on January 8, 2018.4 The                        from up to 25 percent of its retained
                                                submission, all subsequent                              Commission did not receive any                           earnings or such higher amount as the
                                                amendments, all written statements                      comments on the Proposed Rule                            Board of Directors shall determine to a
                                                with respect to the proposed rule                       Change. On February 8, 2018, pursuant                    defined Corporate Contribution.14 The
                                                change that are filed with the                          to Section 19(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) of the Act,5               proposed Corporate Contribution would
                                                Commission, and all written                             the Commission designated a longer                       be defined as an amount equal to 50
                                                communications relating to the                          period within which to approve,
                                                proposed rule change between the                        disapprove, or institute proceedings to                  (SR–DTC–2017–022; SR–FICC–2017–022; SR–
                                                Commission and any person, other than                   determine whether to approve or                          NSCC–2017–018).
                                                those that may be withheld from the                     disapprove the Proposed Rule Change.6                       7 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).

                                                public in accordance with the                                                                                       8 The Commission notes that the Summary of the

                                                provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be                       15 17  CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                            Proposed Rule Change section does not describe the
                                                                                                                                                                 Proposed Rule Change in its entirety. Other changes
                                                available for website viewing and                         1 15  U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                                                                                                                                 include, but are not limited to, the clarification of
                                                printing in the Commission’s Public                       2 17  CFR 240.19b–4.                                   defined terms, various aspects of the Clearing Fund
                                                                                                           3 On December 18, 2017, FICC filed this proposal
                                                Reference Room, 100 F Street NE,                                                                                 application, and detailed procedures of the loss
                                                                                                        as an advance notice (SR–FICC–2017–806) with the         allocation. The complete Proposed Rule Change can
                                                Washington, DC 20549 on official                        Commission pursuant to Section 806(e)(1) of the          be found in the Notice. See Notice, supra note 4.
                                                business days between the hours of                      Payment, Clearing, and Settlement Supervision Act        In addition, the text of the Proposed Rule Change
                                                10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such                 of 2010 (‘‘Clearing Supervision Act’’) and Rule 19b–     is available at http://www.dtcc.com/legal/rules-and-
                                                filing also will be available for                       4(n)(1)(i) of the Act (‘‘Advance Notice’’). On January   procedures.aspx.
                                                                                                        24, 2018, the Commission extended the review
                                                inspection and copying at the principal                 period of the Advance Notice for an additional 60
                                                                                                                                                                    9 The description of the Proposed Rule Change

                                                office of the Exchange. All comments                    days pursuant to Section 806(e)(1)(H) of the             herein is based on the statements prepared by FICC
                                                                                                        Clearing Supervision Act. See 12 U.S.C. 5465(e)(1);      in the Notice. See Notice, supra note 4. Each
                                                received will be posted without change.                                                                          capitalized term not otherwise defined herein has
                                                                                                        17 CFR 240.19b–4(n)(1)(i); 12 U.S.C. 5465(e)(1)(H);
                                                Persons submitting comments are
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                        and Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82583            its respective meaning either (i) as set forth in the
                                                cautioned that we do not redact or edit                 (January 24, 2018), 83 FR 4358 (January 30, 2018)        Rules, available at http://www.dtcc.com/legal/rules-
                                                personal identifying information from                   (SR–FICC–2017–806).                                      and-procedures.aspx, or (ii) as set forth in the
                                                                                                           4 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82427           Notice.
                                                comment submissions. You should                                                                                     10 See Notice, supra note 4, at 855–59.
                                                                                                        (January 2, 2018), 83 FR 854 (January 8, 2018) (SR–
                                                submit only information that you wish                   FICC–2017–022) (‘‘Notice’’).                                11 See id. at 859–60.
                                                to make available publicly. All                            5 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I).                         12 See id. at 860.

                                                submissions should refer to File                           6 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82670              13 Id. at 855.

                                                Number SR–NASDAQ–2018–021, and                          (February 8, 2018), 83 FR 6626 (February 14, 2018)          14 Id. at 856.




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Document Created: 2018-03-24 00:59:56
Document Modified: 2018-03-24 00:59:56
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 Citation83 FR 12988 

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