
[Federal Register: September 29, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 189)]
[Notices]               
[Page 56622-56623]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29se08-120]                         

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Release No. 34-58616; File No. SR-CBOE-2008-99]

 
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by Chicago Board Options 
Exchange, Incorporated Relating to Transfer of Interim Trading Permits

September 22, 2008.
    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 September 19, 2008, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated 
(``CBOE'' or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in 
Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by the CBOE. CBOE 
has filed the proposal pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \3\ 
and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposal 
effective upon filing with the Commission. The Commission is publishing 
this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from 
interested parties.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    CBOE proposes to amend the transfer provisions applicable to 
Interim Trading Permits. The text of the proposed rule change is 
available on the Exchange's Web site (http://www.cboe.org/Legal/), at 
the Exchange's Office of the Secretary, and at the Commission.

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

    In its filing with the Commission, CBOE 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 CBOE 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

(a) Purpose
    CBOE Rule 3.27(g) currently provides that Interim Trading Permits 
are non-transferable, except that in a form and manner prescribed by 
the Exchange (i) a member organization may change the designation of 
the nominee in respect of each Interim Trading Permit it holds and (ii) 
an individual Interim Trading Permit holder at any time after the 
issuance of that Interim Trading Permit may transfer that Interim 
Trading Permit to a member organization with which such individual is 
then associated.
    The Exchange is proposing to amend Rule 3.27(g) to provide for a 
third circumstance in which an Interim Trading Permit may be 
transferred. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend Rule 3.27(g) 
to provide that the holder of an Interim Trading Permit may transfer 
the Interim Trading Permit to an organization which has succeeded, 
through statutory merger, exchange of stock, or acquisition of assets 
to the business of the transferor.
    This proposed new provision is equivalent to CBOE Rule 3.14(c)(ii) 
which permits the owner of a transferable CBOE membership to transfer 
the membership to an organization which has succeeded, through 
statutory merger, exchange of stock, or acquisition of assets to the 
business of the transferor.
(b) Statutory Basis
    The proposed rule change will allow for the business and trading 
operations of an Interim Trading Permit holder to continue without 
interruption when the business of that Interim Trading Permit holder is 
transferred to another organization and avoid a disruption to those 
trading operations that would result from the loss of the Interim 
Trading Permits that support those operations and the need for the 
successor organization to obtain other trading access to the Exchange, 
which may not be available at that time. Accordingly, the Exchange 
believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) 
of the Act in general,\5\ and furthers the objectives of Section 
6(b)(5) in particular,\6\ in that it is designed to facilitate 
transactions in securities, to remove impediments to and perfect the 
mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and 
to protect investors and the public interest.
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    CBOE does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any 
burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of purposes of the Act.

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

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

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

    Because the proposed rule change does not (i) significantly affect 
the protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any 
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative for 
thirty days after the date of filing, or such shorter time as the 
Commission may designate if consistent with the protection of investors 
and the public interest, provided that the self-regulatory organization 
has given the Commission written notice of its intent to file the 
proposed rule change at least five business days prior to the date of 
filing of the proposed rule change or such shorter time as designated 
by the Commission,\7\ the proposed rule change has become effective 
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \8\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) 
thereunder.\9\
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    \7\ The Exchange has fulfilled this requirement.
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \9\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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    Under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) of the Act,\10\ the proposal does not become 
operative for 30 days after the date of its filing, or such shorter 
time as the Commission may designate if consistent with the protection 
of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has requested that 
the Commission waive the 30-day

[[Page 56623]]

operative delay based upon CBOE's representation to the Commission that 
Lehman Brothers Inc. is seeking to transfer its trading operations on 
CBOE to Barclays Capital Inc. on an expeditious basis and that the 
waiver of the foregoing time period will help to facilitate the orderly 
transfer of these operations and avoid the disruption to those 
operations and to CBOE's market that would result if those operations 
needed to be curtailed because Barclays Capital Inc. would not have 
immediate use of the Interim Trading Permits used to support those 
operations. Although the foregoing is the impetus for this rule change, 
going forward any other Interim Trading Permit holder would also be 
able to avail themselves of the proposed transfer provision if desired. 
Based on these reasons, the Commission believes that waiving the 30-day 
operative delay is consistent with the protection of investors and the 
public interest, and thus designates the proposal effective upon 
filing.\11\
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    \10\ Id.
    \11\ For purposes only of waiving the operative date of this 
proposal, the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact 
on efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
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    At any time within sixty days of the filing of the proposed rule 
change, the Commission may summarily abrogate the rule change if it 
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

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 e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-CBOE-2008-99 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

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

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-CBOE-2008-99. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To 
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, 
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on 
the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/
sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all 
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other 
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection and 
copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the CBOE. All 
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does 
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-CBOE-2008-99 and should be 
submitted on or before October 20, 2008.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
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    \12\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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[FR Doc. E8-22748 Filed 9-26-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
