83_FR_40259 83 FR 40103 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Options Regulatory Fee

83 FR 40103 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Options Regulatory Fee

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 156 (August 13, 2018)

Page Range40103-40105
FR Document2018-17257

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40103-40105]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17257]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-83793; File No. SR-ISE-2018-70]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the 
Options Regulatory Fee

August 7, 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 July 27, 2018, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (``ISE'' or ``Exchange'') filed with 
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``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 revise ISE's Schedule of Fees to amend its 
Options Regulatory Fee or ``ORF''.
    While the changes proposed herein are effective upon filing, the 
Exchange has designated the amendments become operative on August 1, 
2018.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
website at http://ise.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.

[[Page 40104]]

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

1. Purpose
    Currently, ISE assesses an ORF of $0.0016 per contract side. The 
Exchange proposes to increase this ORF to $0.0020 per contract side. In 
2017, ISE reduced its ORF from $0.0039 per contract side to $0.0016 per 
contract side to account for synergies which resulted from Nasdaq's 
acquisition \3\ of the Exchange. At this time, the Exchange proposes an 
increase to its ORF that reflects its current expense profile. The 
Exchange's proposed change to the ORF should balance the Exchange's 
regulatory revenue against the anticipated costs.
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    \3\ On June 30, 2016, Nasdaq completed its acquisition of the 
International Securities Exchange. With the acquisition, ISE 
regulatory program has been examined and conformed to certain best 
practices which exist today on NASDAQ PHLX LLC, The NASDAQ Options 
Market LLC and NASDAQ BX, Inc. (collectively ``Nasdaq Markets'') and 
Nasdaq GEMX, LLC. These synergies in combination with conforming the 
expense and revenue review of ISE to that of the Nasdaq Markets 
resulted in decreased regulatory expenses for ISE. See Securities 
Exchange Act Release No. 81345 (August 8, 2017), 82 FR 155 (August 
14, 2017) (SR-ISE-2017-71).
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Collection of ORF
    Currently, ISE assesses its ORF for each customer option 
transaction that is either: (1) Executed by a Member on ISE; or (2) 
cleared by an ISE Member at The Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC'') 
in the customer range,\4\ even if the transaction was executed by a 
non-member of ISE, regardless of the exchange on which the transaction 
occurs.\5\ If the OCC clearing member is an ISE Member, ORF is assessed 
and collected on all cleared customer contracts (after adjustment for 
CMTA \6\); and (2) if the OCC clearing member is not an ISE Member, ORF 
is collected only on the cleared customer contracts executed at ISE, 
taking into account any CMTA instructions which may result in 
collecting the ORF from a non-member.
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    \4\ Members must record the appropriate account origin code on 
all orders at the time of entry in order. The Exchange represents 
that it has surveillances in place to verify that members mark 
orders with the correct account origin code.
    \5\ The Exchange uses reports from OCC when assessing and 
collecting the ORF.
    \6\ CMTA or Clearing Member Trade Assignment is a form of 
``give-up'' whereby the position will be assigned to a specific 
clearing firm at OCC.
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    By way of example, if Broker A, an ISE Member, routes a customer 
order to CBOE and the transaction executes on CBOE and clears in Broker 
A's OCC Clearing account, ORF will be collected by ISE from Broker A's 
clearing account at OCC via direct debit. While this transaction was 
executed on a market other than ISE, it was cleared by an ISE Member in 
the member's OCC clearing account in the customer range, therefore 
there is a regulatory nexus between ISE and the transaction. If Broker 
A was not an ISE Member, then no ORF should be assessed and collected 
because there is no nexus; the transaction did not execute on ISE nor 
was it cleared by an ISE Member.
    In the case where a Member both executes a transaction and clears 
the transaction, the ORF is assessed to and collected from that Member. 
In the case where a Member executes a transaction and a different 
member clears the transaction, the ORF is assessed to and collected 
from the Member who clears the transaction and not the Member who 
executes the transaction. In the case where a non-member executes a 
transaction at an away market and a Member clears the transaction, the 
ORF is assessed to and collected from the Member who clears the 
transaction. In the case where a Member executes a transaction on ISE 
and a non-member clears the transaction, the ORF is assessed to the 
Member that executed the transaction on ISE and collected from the non-
member who cleared the transaction. In the case where a Member executes 
a transaction at an away market and a non-member clears the 
transaction, the ORF is not assessed to the Member who executed the 
transaction or collected from the non-member who cleared the 
transaction because the Exchange does not have access to the data to 
make absolutely certain that ORF should apply. Further, the data does 
not allow the Exchange to identify the Member executing the trade at an 
away market.
ORF Revenue and Monitoring of ORF
    The Exchange monitors the amount of revenue collected from the ORF 
to ensure that it, in combination with other regulatory fees and fines, 
does not exceed regulatory costs. In determining whether an expense is 
considered a regulatory cost, the Exchange reviews all costs and makes 
determinations if there is a nexus between the expense and a regulatory 
function. The Exchange notes that fines collected by the Exchange in 
connection with a disciplinary matter offset ORF.
    The ORF is designed to recover a material portion of the costs to 
the Exchange of the supervision and regulation of its members, 
including performing routine surveillances, investigations, 
examinations, financial monitoring, and policy, rulemaking, 
interpretive, and enforcement activities.
    The Exchange believes that revenue generated from the ORF, when 
combined with all of the Exchange's other regulatory fees, will cover a 
material portion, but not all, of the Exchange's regulatory costs. The 
Exchange will continue to monitor the amount of revenue collected from 
the ORF to ensure that it, in combination with its other regulatory 
fees and fines, does not exceed regulatory costs. If the Exchange 
determines regulatory revenues exceed regulatory costs, the Exchange 
will adjust the ORF by submitting a fee change filing to the 
Commission.
Proposal
    The Exchange is proposing to increase the ORF from $0.0016 to 
$0.0020 as of August 1, 2018 to reflect its current expense expenses 
while also ensuring that the ORF will not exceed costs. The Exchange 
regularly reviews its ORF to ensure that the ORF, in combination with 
its other regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed regulatory costs. 
The Exchange believes this adjustment will permit the Exchange to cover 
a material portion of its regulatory costs, while not exceeding 
regulatory costs.
    The Exchange notified Members via an Options Trader Alert of the 
proposed change to the ORF thirty (30) calendar days prior to the 
proposed operative date, August 1, 2018.\7\ The Exchange believes that 
the prior notification market participants will ensure market 
participants are prepared to configure their systems to properly 
account for the ORF.
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    \7\ See Options Trader Alert #2018-27.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section 
6(b) of the Act \8\ in general, and furthers the objectives of Sections 
6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act \9\ 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 its facility and is 
not designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, 
issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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    The Exchange believes that increasing the ORF from $0.0016 to 
$0.0020 as of August 1, 2018 is reasonable because the Exchange's 
collection of ORF needs to be balanced against the amount of regulatory 
costs incurred by the Exchange. The Exchange believes that the proposed 
adjustments noted herein will serve to balance the Exchange's 
regulatory revenue against the

[[Page 40105]]

anticipated regulatory costs. While these adjustments result in an 
increase, the increase is modest.
    The Exchange believes that amending the ORF from $0.0016 to $0.0020 
as of August 1, 2018 is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory 
because assessing the ORF to each Member for options transactions 
cleared by OCC in the customer range where the execution occurs on 
another exchange and is cleared by an ISE Member is an equitable 
allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its 
members and issuers and other persons using its facilities. The ORF is 
collected by OCC on behalf of ISE from Exchange clearing members for 
all customer transactions they clear or from non-members for all 
customer transactions they clear that were executed on ISE. The 
Exchange believes the ORF ensures fairness by assessing fees to Members 
based on the amount of customer options business they conduct. 
Regulating customer trading activity is much more labor intensive and 
requires greater expenditure of human and technical resources than 
regulating non-customer trading activity, which tends to be more 
automated and less labor-intensive. As a result, the costs associated 
with administering the customer component of the Exchange's overall 
regulatory program are materially higher than the costs associated with 
administering the non-customer component (e.g., Member proprietary 
transactions) of its regulatory program.
    The ORF is designed to recover a material portion of the costs of 
supervising and regulating Members' customer options business including 
performing routine surveillances, investigations, examinations, 
financial monitoring, and policy, rulemaking, interpretive, and 
enforcement activities. The Exchange will monitor the amount of revenue 
collected from the ORF to ensure that it, in combination with its other 
regulatory fees and fines, does not exceed the Exchange's total 
regulatory costs. The Exchange has designed the ORF to generate 
revenues that, when combined with all of the Exchange's other 
regulatory fees, will be less than or equal to the Exchange's 
regulatory costs, which is consistent with the Commission's view that 
regulatory fees be used for regulatory purposes and not to support the 
Exchange's business side.

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. This proposal does not create 
an unnecessary or inappropriate intra-market burden on competition 
because the ORF applies to all customer activity, thereby raising 
regulatory revenue to offset regulatory expenses. It also supplements 
the regulatory revenue derived from non-customer activity. This 
proposal does not create an unnecessary or inappropriate inter-market 
burden on competition because it is a regulatory fee that supports 
regulation in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange is 
obligated to ensure that the amount of regulatory revenue collected 
from the ORF, in combination with its other regulatory fees and fines, 
does not exceed regulatory costs.

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.\10\ 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.
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    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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 No. SR-ISE-2018-70 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 No. SR-ISE-2018-70. 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 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. 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 No. SR-ISE-2018-70, and should be submitted on or 
before September 4, 2018.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\11\
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    \11\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-17257 Filed 8-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P



                                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2018 / Notices                                            40103

                                                contrary, the Exchange believes that the                 Electronic Comments                                    SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
                                                proposed changes should increase both                                                                           COMMISSION
                                                intermarket and intramarket                                • Use the Commission’s internet
                                                competition. Specifically, the Exchange                  comment form (http://www.sec.gov/
                                                                                                                                                                [Release No. 34–83793; File No. SR–ISE–
                                                believes that the changes will promote                   rules/sro.shtml); or
                                                                                                                                                                2018–70]
                                                competition by increasing the                              • Send an email to rule-comments@
                                                connectivity fees to become more within                  sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–                Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq
                                                the range of comparable fees assessed by                 PEARL–2018–16 on the subject line.                     ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and
                                                other competing exchanges.14                                                                                    Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed
                                                                                                         Paper Comments
                                                   The Exchange notes that it operates in                                                                       Rule Change To Amend the Options
                                                a highly competitive market in which                       • Send paper comments in triplicate                  Regulatory Fee
                                                market participants can readily favor                    to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
                                                                                                                                                                August 7, 2018.
                                                competing venues if they deem fee                        Commission, 100 F Street NE,
                                                levels at a particular venue to be                       Washington, DC 20549–1090.                                Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
                                                excessive. In such an environment, the                                                                          Securities Exchange Act of 1934
                                                                                                         All submissions should refer to File                   (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19B–4 thereunder,2
                                                Exchange must continually adjust its                     Number SR–PEARL–2018–16. This file
                                                fees to remain competitive with other                                                                           notice is hereby given that on July 27,
                                                                                                         number should be included on the                       2018, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or
                                                exchanges. The Exchange believes that                    subject line if email is used. To help the
                                                the proposed changes reflect this                                                                               ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
                                                                                                         Commission process and review your                     and Exchange Commission (the
                                                competitive environment. To the extent                   comments more efficiently, please use
                                                that this purpose is achieved, all the                                                                          ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
                                                                                                         only one method. The Commission will                   change as described in Items I, II, and
                                                Exchange’s market participants should                    post all comments on the Commission’s
                                                benefit from the improved market                                                                                III below, which Items have been
                                                                                                         internet website (http://www.sec.gov/                  prepared by the Exchange. The
                                                liquidity.                                               rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the                        Commission is publishing this notice to
                                                C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                        submission, all subsequent                             solicit comments on the proposed rule
                                                Statement on Comments on the                             amendments, all written statements                     change from interested persons.
                                                Proposed Rule Change Received From                       with respect to the proposed rule
                                                Members, Participants, or Others                         change that are filed with the                         I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                                                                         Commission, and all written                            Statement of the Terms of Substance of
                                                  Written comments were neither                          communications relating to the                         the Proposed Rule Change
                                                solicited nor received.                                  proposed rule change between the
                                                                                                         Commission and any person, other than                     The Exchange proposes to revise ISE’s
                                                III. Date of Effectiveness of the                                                                               Schedule of Fees to amend its Options
                                                Proposed Rule Change and Timing for                      those that may be withheld from the
                                                                                                         public in accordance with the                          Regulatory Fee or ‘‘ORF’’.
                                                Commission Action
                                                                                                         provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be                       While the changes proposed herein
                                                   The foregoing rule change has become                  available for website viewing and                      are effective upon filing, the Exchange
                                                effective pursuant to Section                            printing in the Commission’s Public                    has designated the amendments become
                                                19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,15 and Rule                   Reference Room, 100 F Street NE,                       operative on August 1, 2018.
                                                19b–4(f)(2) 16 thereunder. At any time                   Washington, DC 20549, on official                         The text of the proposed rule change
                                                within 60 days of the filing of the                      business days between the hours of                     is available on the Exchange’s website at
                                                proposed rule change, the Commission                     10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the                 http://ise.cchwallstreet.com/, at the
                                                summarily may temporarily suspend                        filing also will be available for                      principal office of the Exchange, and at
                                                such rule change if it appears to the                    inspection and copying at the principal                the Commission’s Public Reference
                                                Commission that such action is                           office of the Exchange. All comments                   Room.
                                                necessary or appropriate in the public                   received will be posted without change.
                                                interest, for the protection of investors,               Persons submitting comments are                        II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                or otherwise in furtherance of the                       cautioned that we do not redact or edit                Statement of the Purpose of, and
                                                purposes of the Act. If the Commission                   personal identifying information from                  Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
                                                takes such action, the Commission shall                  comment submissions. You should                        Change
                                                institute proceedings to determine                       submit only information that you wish                    In its filing with the Commission, the
                                                whether the proposed rule should be                      to make available publicly. All                        Exchange included statements
                                                approved or disapproved.                                 submissions should refer to File                       concerning the purpose of and basis for
                                                                                                         Number SR–PEARL–2018–16 and                            the proposed rule change and discussed
                                                IV. Solicitation of Comments
                                                                                                         should be submitted on or before                       any comments it received on the
                                                  Interested persons are invited to                      September 4, 2018.                                     proposed rule change. The text of these
                                                submit written data, views, and                            For the Commission, by the Division of               statements may be examined at the
                                                arguments concerning the foregoing,                      Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated             places specified in Item IV below. The
                                                including whether the proposed rule                      authority.17                                           Exchange has prepared summaries, set
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                                                change is consistent with the Act.                       Eduardo A. Aleman,                                     forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
                                                Comments may be submitted by any of                      Assistant Secretary.                                   the most significant aspects of such
                                                the following methods:                                   [FR Doc. 2018–17251 Filed 8–10–18; 8:45 am]            statements.
                                                                                                         BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
                                                  14 See supra note 4.
                                                  15 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).                                                                                  1 15   U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
                                                  16 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).                               17 17   CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                           2 17   CFR 240.19B–4.



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                                                40104                        Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2018 / Notices

                                                A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                       at OCC via direct debit. While this                     The Exchange believes that revenue
                                                Statement of the Purpose of, and the                    transaction was executed on a market                  generated from the ORF, when
                                                Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule                  other than ISE, it was cleared by an ISE              combined with all of the Exchange’s
                                                Change                                                  Member in the member’s OCC clearing                   other regulatory fees, will cover a
                                                                                                        account in the customer range, therefore              material portion, but not all, of the
                                                1. Purpose
                                                                                                        there is a regulatory nexus between ISE               Exchange’s regulatory costs. The
                                                   Currently, ISE assesses an ORF of                    and the transaction. If Broker A was not              Exchange will continue to monitor the
                                                $0.0016 per contract side. The Exchange                 an ISE Member, then no ORF should be                  amount of revenue collected from the
                                                proposes to increase this ORF to                        assessed and collected because there is               ORF to ensure that it, in combination
                                                $0.0020 per contract side. In 2017, ISE                 no nexus; the transaction did not                     with its other regulatory fees and fines,
                                                reduced its ORF from $0.0039 per                        execute on ISE nor was it cleared by an               does not exceed regulatory costs. If the
                                                contract side to $0.0016 per contract                   ISE Member.                                           Exchange determines regulatory
                                                side to account for synergies which                        In the case where a Member both                    revenues exceed regulatory costs, the
                                                resulted from Nasdaq’s acquisition 3 of                 executes a transaction and clears the                 Exchange will adjust the ORF by
                                                the Exchange. At this time, the                         transaction, the ORF is assessed to and               submitting a fee change filing to the
                                                Exchange proposes an increase to its                    collected from that Member. In the case               Commission.
                                                ORF that reflects its current expense                   where a Member executes a transaction
                                                profile. The Exchange’s proposed                        and a different member clears the                     Proposal
                                                change to the ORF should balance the                    transaction, the ORF is assessed to and                 The Exchange is proposing to increase
                                                Exchange’s regulatory revenue against                   collected from the Member who clears                  the ORF from $0.0016 to $0.0020 as of
                                                the anticipated costs.                                  the transaction and not the Member who                August 1, 2018 to reflect its current
                                                                                                        executes the transaction. In the case                 expense expenses while also ensuring
                                                Collection of ORF                                       where a non-member executes a                         that the ORF will not exceed costs. The
                                                   Currently, ISE assesses its ORF for                  transaction at an away market and a                   Exchange regularly reviews its ORF to
                                                each customer option transaction that is                Member clears the transaction, the ORF                ensure that the ORF, in combination
                                                either: (1) Executed by a Member on                     is assessed to and collected from the                 with its other regulatory fees and fines,
                                                ISE; or (2) cleared by an ISE Member at                 Member who clears the transaction. In                 does not exceed regulatory costs. The
                                                The Options Clearing Corporation                        the case where a Member executes a                    Exchange believes this adjustment will
                                                (‘‘OCC’’) in the customer range,4 even if               transaction on ISE and a non-member                   permit the Exchange to cover a material
                                                the transaction was executed by a non-                  clears the transaction, the ORF is                    portion of its regulatory costs, while not
                                                member of ISE, regardless of the                        assessed to the Member that executed                  exceeding regulatory costs.
                                                exchange on which the transaction                       the transaction on ISE and collected                    The Exchange notified Members via
                                                occurs.5 If the OCC clearing member is                  from the non-member who cleared the                   an Options Trader Alert of the proposed
                                                an ISE Member, ORF is assessed and                      transaction. In the case where a Member               change to the ORF thirty (30) calendar
                                                collected on all cleared customer                       executes a transaction at an away                     days prior to the proposed operative
                                                contracts (after adjustment for CMTA 6);                market and a non-member clears the                    date, August 1, 2018.7 The Exchange
                                                and (2) if the OCC clearing member is                   transaction, the ORF is not assessed to               believes that the prior notification
                                                not an ISE Member, ORF is collected                     the Member who executed the                           market participants will ensure market
                                                only on the cleared customer contracts                  transaction or collected from the non-                participants are prepared to configure
                                                executed at ISE, taking into account any                member who cleared the transaction                    their systems to properly account for the
                                                CMTA instructions which may result in                   because the Exchange does not have                    ORF.
                                                collecting the ORF from a non-member.                   access to the data to make absolutely
                                                   By way of example, if Broker A, an                   certain that ORF should apply. Further,               2. Statutory Basis
                                                ISE Member, routes a customer order to                  the data does not allow the Exchange to                  The Exchange believes that its
                                                CBOE and the transaction executes on                    identify the Member executing the trade               proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)
                                                CBOE and clears in Broker A’s OCC                       at an away market.                                    of the Act 8 in general, and furthers the
                                                Clearing account, ORF will be collected                 ORF Revenue and Monitoring of ORF                     objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5)
                                                by ISE from Broker A’s clearing account                                                                       of the Act 9 in particular, in that it
                                                                                                           The Exchange monitors the amount of                provides for the equitable allocation of
                                                   3 On June 30, 2016, Nasdaq completed its             revenue collected from the ORF to                     reasonable dues, fees and other charges
                                                acquisition of the International Securities Exchange.   ensure that it, in combination with other             among members and issuers and other
                                                With the acquisition, ISE regulatory program has        regulatory fees and fines, does not
                                                been examined and conformed to certain best
                                                                                                                                                              persons using its facility and is not
                                                practices which exist today on NASDAQ PHLX
                                                                                                        exceed regulatory costs. In determining               designed to permit unfair
                                                LLC, The NASDAQ Options Market LLC and                  whether an expense is considered a                    discrimination between customers,
                                                NASDAQ BX, Inc. (collectively ‘‘Nasdaq Markets’’)       regulatory cost, the Exchange reviews                 issuers, brokers, or dealers.
                                                and Nasdaq GEMX, LLC. These synergies in                all costs and makes determinations if
                                                combination with conforming the expense and
                                                                                                                                                                 The Exchange believes that increasing
                                                revenue review of ISE to that of the Nasdaq Markets
                                                                                                        there is a nexus between the expense                  the ORF from $0.0016 to $0.0020 as of
                                                resulted in decreased regulatory expenses for ISE.      and a regulatory function. The Exchange               August 1, 2018 is reasonable because
                                                See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 81345           notes that fines collected by the                     the Exchange’s collection of ORF needs
                                                (August 8, 2017), 82 FR 155 (August 14, 2017) (SR–      Exchange in connection with a
                                                ISE–2017–71).
                                                                                                                                                              to be balanced against the amount of
                                                   4 Members must record the appropriate account
                                                                                                        disciplinary matter offset ORF.                       regulatory costs incurred by the
                                                                                                           The ORF is designed to recover a
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                                                origin code on all orders at the time of entry in                                                             Exchange. The Exchange believes that
                                                order. The Exchange represents that it has              material portion of the costs to the                  the proposed adjustments noted herein
                                                surveillances in place to verify that members mark      Exchange of the supervision and                       will serve to balance the Exchange’s
                                                orders with the correct account origin code.            regulation of its members, including
                                                   5 The Exchange uses reports from OCC when
                                                                                                                                                              regulatory revenue against the
                                                                                                        performing routine surveillances,
                                                assessing and collecting the ORF.
                                                   6 CMTA or Clearing Member Trade Assignment is        investigations, examinations, financial                 7 See Options Trader Alert #2018–27.
                                                a form of ‘‘give-up’’ whereby the position will be      monitoring, and policy, rulemaking,                     8 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
                                                assigned to a specific clearing firm at OCC.            interpretive, and enforcement activities.               9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).




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                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2018 / Notices                                                     40105

                                                anticipated regulatory costs. While these               of the purposes of the Act. This                         Commission, 100 F Street NE,
                                                adjustments result in an increase, the                  proposal does not create an unnecessary                  Washington, DC 20549–1090.
                                                increase is modest.                                     or inappropriate intra-market burden on
                                                   The Exchange believes that amending                  competition because the ORF applies to                   All submissions should refer to File No.
                                                the ORF from $0.0016 to $0.0020 as of                   all customer activity, thereby raising                   SR–ISE–2018–70. This file number
                                                August 1, 2018 is equitable and not                     regulatory revenue to offset regulatory                  should be included on the subject line
                                                unfairly discriminatory because                         expenses. It also supplements the                        if email is used. To help the
                                                assessing the ORF to each Member for                    regulatory revenue derived from non-                     Commission process and review your
                                                options transactions cleared by OCC in                  customer activity. This proposal does                    comments more efficiently, please use
                                                the customer range where the execution                  not create an unnecessary or                             only one method. The Commission will
                                                occurs on another exchange and is                       inappropriate inter-market burden on                     post all comments on the Commission’s
                                                cleared by an ISE Member is an                          competition because it is a regulatory                   internet website (http://www.sec.gov/
                                                equitable allocation of reasonable dues,                fee that supports regulation in                          rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
                                                fees, and other charges among its                       furtherance of the purposes of the Act.                  submission, all subsequent
                                                members and issuers and other persons                   The Exchange is obligated to ensure that                 amendments, all written statements
                                                using its facilities. The ORF is collected              the amount of regulatory revenue                         with respect to the proposed rule
                                                by OCC on behalf of ISE from Exchange                   collected from the ORF, in combination                   change that are filed with the
                                                clearing members for all customer                       with its other regulatory fees and fines,                Commission, and all written
                                                transactions they clear or from non-                    does not exceed regulatory costs.                        communications relating to the
                                                members for all customer transactions
                                                                                                        C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s                        proposed rule change between the
                                                they clear that were executed on ISE.
                                                                                                        Statement on Comments on the                             Commission and any person, other than
                                                The Exchange believes the ORF ensures
                                                fairness by assessing fees to Members                   Proposed Rule Change Received From                       those that may be withheld from the
                                                based on the amount of customer                         Members, Participants, or Others                         public in accordance with the
                                                options business they conduct.                                                                                   provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
                                                                                                          No written comments were either
                                                Regulating customer trading activity is                 solicited or received.                                   available for website viewing and
                                                much more labor intensive and requires                                                                           printing in the Commission’s Public
                                                greater expenditure of human and                        III. Date of Effectiveness of the                        Reference Room, 100 F Street NE,
                                                technical resources than regulating non-                Proposed Rule Change and Timing for                      Washington, DC 20549, on official
                                                customer trading activity, which tends                  Commission Action                                        business days between the hours of
                                                to be more automated and less labor-                       The foregoing rule change has become                  10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
                                                intensive. As a result, the costs                       effective pursuant to Section                            filing also will be available for
                                                associated with administering the                       19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.10 At any time                inspection and copying at the principal
                                                customer component of the Exchange’s                    within 60 days of the filing of the                      office of the Exchange. All comments
                                                overall regulatory program are                          proposed rule change, the Commission                     received will be posted without change.
                                                materially higher than the costs                        summarily may temporarily suspend                        Persons submitting comments are
                                                associated with administering the non-                  such rule change if it appears to the                    cautioned that we do not redact or edit
                                                customer component (e.g., Member                        Commission that such action is: (i)                      personal identifying information from
                                                proprietary transactions) of its                        necessary or appropriate in the public                   comment submissions. You should
                                                regulatory program.                                     interest; (ii) for the protection of                     submit only information that you wish
                                                   The ORF is designed to recover a                     investors; or (iii) otherwise in                         to make available publicly. All
                                                material portion of the costs of                        furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
                                                supervising and regulating Members’                                                                              submissions should refer to File No.
                                                                                                        If the Commission takes such action, the                 SR–ISE–2018–70, and should be
                                                customer options business including                     Commission shall institute proceedings
                                                performing routine surveillances,                                                                                submitted on or before September 4,
                                                                                                        to determine whether the proposed rule                   2018.
                                                investigations, examinations, financial                 should be approved or disapproved.
                                                monitoring, and policy, rulemaking,                                                                                For the Commission, by the Division of
                                                interpretive, and enforcement activities.               IV. Solicitation of Comments                             Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
                                                The Exchange will monitor the amount                      Interested persons are invited to                      authority.11
                                                of revenue collected from the ORF to                    submit written data, views, and                          Eduardo A. Aleman,
                                                ensure that it, in combination with its                 arguments concerning the foregoing,                      Assistant Secretary.
                                                other regulatory fees and fines, does not               including whether the proposed rule                      [FR Doc. 2018–17257 Filed 8–10–18; 8:45 am]
                                                exceed the Exchange’s total regulatory                  change is consistent with the Act.
                                                costs. The Exchange has designed the                                                                             BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
                                                                                                        Comments may be submitted by any of
                                                ORF to generate revenues that, when                     the following methods:
                                                combined with all of the Exchange’s
                                                other regulatory fees, will be less than                Electronic Comments
                                                or equal to the Exchange’s regulatory                     • Use the Commission’s internet
                                                costs, which is consistent with the                     comment form (http://www.sec.gov/
                                                Commission’s view that regulatory fees                  rules/sro.shtml); or
                                                be used for regulatory purposes and not                   • Send an email to rule-comments@
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                to support the Exchange’s business side.                sec.gov. Please include File No. SR–ISE–
                                                                                                        2018–70 on the subject line.
                                                B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
                                                Statement on Burden on Competition                      Paper Comments
                                                  The Exchange does not believe that                      • Send paper comments in triplicate
                                                the proposed rule change will impose                    to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
                                                any burden on competition not
                                                necessary or appropriate in furtherance                   10 15   U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).                         11 17   CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).



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Document Created: 2018-08-11 00:27:48
Document Modified: 2018-08-11 00:27:48
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 40103 

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