
[Federal Register: October 18, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 200)]
[Notices]               
[Page 63883-63884]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18oc10-118]                         


[[Page 63883]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-63089; File No. SR-MSRB-2010-09]

 
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Municipal Securities Rulemaking 
Board; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Consisting of Fee 
Changes to Its Real-Time Transaction Price Service and Comprehensive 
Transaction Price Service, and Termination of Its T+1 Transaction Price 
Service

October 13, 2010.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``the Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given 
that on September 30, 2010, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board 
(``Board'' or ``MSRB'') filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in 
Items I, II and III below, which Items have been prepared by the MSRB. 
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 MSRB has filed with the Commission a proposed rule change 
relating to the MSRB's Real-time Transaction Reporting System 
(``RTRS''). The proposed rule change consists of fee changes to the 
MSRB's Real-Time Transaction Price Service and Comprehensive 
Transaction Price Service of RTRS and the consolidation into the 
Comprehensive Transaction Price Service of its existing T+1 Transaction 
Price Service. In addition, the proposed rule change would change the 
name of the Real-Time Transaction Price Service to the ``MSRB Real-Time 
Transaction Data Subscription Service'' and would change the name of 
the Comprehensive Transaction Price Service to the ``MSRB Comprehensive 
Transaction Data Subscription Service.'' The MSRB proposes an effective 
date for this proposed rule change of January 1, 2011.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the MSRB's Web 
site at http://www.msrb.org/Rules-and-Interpretations/SEC-Filings/2010-
Filings.aspx 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 MSRB 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 Board 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
    In January 2005, the MSRB commenced operation of RTRS, also known 
as the ``Transaction Data Program,'' and its Real-Time Transaction 
Price Service providing a real-time stream of data representing 
municipal securities transaction reports made by brokers, dealers and 
municipal securities dealers (``dealers'') to RTRS, with an annual 
subscription fee of $5,000.\3\ The MSRB proposes to rename the Real-
time Transaction Price Service as the ``MSRB Real-Time Transaction Data 
Subscription Service'' (the ``Real-Time Service'') and to increase the 
annual subscription fee for the Real-Time Service from $5,000 to 
$10,000 beginning on January 1, 2011.\4\
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    \3\ See Exchange Act Release No. 50820 (December 8, 2004).
    \4\ The MSRB could, in its discretion, waive the Real-Time 
Service subscription fee for not-for-profit organizations, academic 
institutions, or other entities or persons who desire the service 
for non-profit or research purposes.
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    The Comprehensive Transaction Price Service currently consists of a 
T+5 Report of transaction data five business days after trade date and 
a T+20 Report of transaction data 20 business days after trade date. 
The MSRB proposes to rename the Comprehensive Transaction Price Service 
as the ``MSRB Comprehensive Transaction Data Subscription Service'' 
(the ``Comprehensive Service'') and to increase the subscription fee 
for the Comprehensive Service from $2,000 annually to $5,000 annually 
effective January 1, 2011.\5\ Additionally, the MSRB proposes to 
consolidate the free T+1 Transaction Price Service into the 
Comprehensive Service and to terminate the separate T+1 Transaction 
Price Service as of December 31, 2010. As amended and consolidated, the 
Comprehensive Service will continue to be made available through 
electronic file download over the internet, and it will include three 
reports: Transaction data one business day after the trade (T+1), 
transaction data five business days after the trade (T+5), and 
transaction data twenty business days after the trade (T+20).
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    \5\ As with the Real-Time Service, the MSRB could, in its 
discretion, waive the Comprehensive Service subscription fee for 
not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, or other 
entities or persons who desire the service for non-profit or 
research purposes.
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    The MSRB continues to encourage information vendors--and various 
other entities that make securities data available to members of the 
securities industry and the public--to use the transaction data in 
their products and services and permits those parties to re-disseminate 
the data, either in its original form or with enhancements to address 
the specific needs of specific data users. To this end, subscribers may 
(i) use the data for their internal business purposes; (ii) re-
disseminate the data to their customers, clients and system users; and/
or (iii) re-disseminate the data in other products or services that 
they offer to their customers, clients and system users, subject to 
certain terms and limitations, including those relating to proprietary 
and intellectual property rights of third parties in information 
provided by such third parties that is made available through the 
subscription.
    The purpose of the proposed rule change is to assess commercially 
reasonable fees for MSRB data services that will partially defray the 
costs and expenses of operating and administering MSRB market 
information programs. The MSRB has not increased the cost of the Real-
Time Service since it was implemented approximately six years ago. 
Moreover, prior to January 2005, the MSRB offered, among other reports, 
two delayed transaction reports (the Inter-Dealer Report and the 
Combined Report) for $15,000 each. The proposed subscription fee for 
the Real-Time Service is less than either of these delayed transaction 
reports offered prior to January 2005. The MSRB has not increased the 
cost of the Comprehensive Service since November 2001, when it was 
introduced as the Daily Comprehensive Report.
    The proposed rule change is needed to help bring the Board's 
revenues more closely in line with expenditures and to help ensure that 
subscription fees and revenues are reasonable. Currently, the Real-Time 
Service generates revenue of approximately $220,000 annually, and the 
Comprehensive Service generates revenue of approximately $48,000 
annually. No revenue is generated by

[[Page 63884]]

the T+1 Transaction Price Service. Consequently, all three services 
generate less than $300,000 of revenue per year. The cost of operating 
MSRB market information programs has been increasing annually. Fee 
revenue obtained through these subscription services covers only a 
small portion of RTRS operating costs. Even with the proposed 
increases, the MSRB does not expect subscription fees to cover more 
than a relatively small percentage of program costs.
2. Statutory Basis
    The MSRB believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with 
Section 15B(b)(2)(J) of the Act,\6\ which requires, in pertinent part, 
that the MSRB's rules shall:
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-4(b)(2)(J).

    Provide that each municipal securities broker and each municipal 
securities dealer shall pay to the Board such reasonable fees and 
charges as may be necessary or appropriate to defray the costs and 
expenses of operating and administering the Board. Such rules shall 
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specify the amount of such fees and charges.

    The proposed rule change provides for commercially reasonable fees 
to partially offset costs associated with operating RTRS and producing 
and disseminating transaction reports to subscribers.

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

    The Board 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 since it would apply equally to 
all market participants that chose to subscribe to the services.

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

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received on the 
proposed rule change.

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

    Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to 
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change, or
    (B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 
change should be 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 e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-MSRB-2010-09 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

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

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-MSRB-2010-09. 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 Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies 
of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements 
with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the 
Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed 
rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those 
that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions 
of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in 
the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, 
DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 
p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available for inspection and 
copying at the MSRB's offices. 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-MSRB-2010-09 and should be submitted on or before 
November 8, 2010.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\7\
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    \7\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-26182 Filed 10-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P

