
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 235 (Tuesday, December 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76333-76335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30837]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-76540; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2015-97]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE MKT LLC; Notice of Filing and 
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Amending Rule 132--
Equities To Delete Supplementary Material .40 Requiring Members 
Effecting Transactions on the Equities Trading Floor to Submit Certain 
Data Elements and Badge Information and to Make a Conforming Change

December 2, 2015.
    Pursuant to section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby 
given that on November 20, 2015, NYSE MKT LLC (the ``Exchange'' or 
``NYSE MKT'') 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 self-regulatory 
organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit 
comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C.78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 132--Equities to delete 
Supplementary Material .40 requiring members effecting transactions on 
the equities trading Floor (the ``Trading Floor'') to submit certain 
data elements and badge information and to make a conforming change. 
The proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site at 
www.nyse.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 self-regulatory organization 
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 those 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 parts of such statements.

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

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 132--Equities (``Rule 132'') to 
delete Supplementary Material .40, which requires members to submit 
certain data elements and badge information for transactions effected 
on the Trading Floor and to make a conforming change.
    Rule 132 requires clearing member organizations submitting a 
transaction to comparison to include the audit trail data elements set 
forth in Supplementary Material .30, including a specification of the 
account type for which the transaction was effected according to 
defined account categories. Consistent with this requirement, 
Supplementary Material .40 requires members \4\ effecting transactions 
on the Trading Floor as agent or otherwise to supply these audit trail 
data elements to their clearing member organization and to promptly 
provide the reporter in the Crowd (or other designated Exchange 
representative) with the member's broker badge number or alpha symbol.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Under Rule 2(a), a member is a natural person associated 
with a member organization and in the context of Rule 132.40, refers 
to Floor brokers only.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange proposes to delete Rule 132.40 as obsolete. Rule 
132.40 was

[[Page 76334]]

adopted at a time when manual transactions on the Trading Floor were 
recorded on paper order tickets. The rule was designed to improve trade 
documentation and ensure that broker badge information was captured 
correctly for Crowd trades (i.e., verbal executions between two Floor 
brokers or between a Floor broker and a specialist). Currently, 
however, all information regarding transactions at the Exchange, 
including the audit trail data elements of Rule 132.30 and badge 
information for manual transactions, is captured and transmitted 
electronically by Exchange systems. Because these data elements no 
longer need to be separately submitted by members, Rule 132.40 is 
obsolete and therefore can be deleted.
    The Exchange also proposes to amend Rule 476A, which sets forth the 
list of rules under which a member organization or covered person may 
be subject to a fine in lieu of the Exchange commencing a disciplinary 
proceeding under Rule 476. Rule 476A permits a summary fine for 
failures to collect and/or submit all audit trail data specified in 
Rule 132. The Exchange proposes to delete the clause ``and/or submit'' 
to reflect elimination of the submission requirement set forth in 
Supplementary Material .40 of Rule 132. The Exchange believes this 
proposed change will add transparency and clarity to the Exchange's 
rules.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with section 6(b) of the Act,\5\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of section 6(b)(5) of the Act,\6\ in particular, because it 
is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, 
promote just and equitable principles of trade, remove impediments to 
and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national 
market system, and protect investors and the public interest. In 
particular, the Exchange believes that deleting rule text relating to a 
requirement that is obsolete, i.e., to manually submit and transmit 
information that Exchange systems now capture and transmit 
electronically, removes impediments to and perfects the mechanism of a 
free and open market by simplifying its rulebook and removing confusion 
that may result from having obsolete rules in the Exchange's rulebook. 
The Exchange further believes that the proposal removes impediments to 
and perfects the mechanism of a free and open market by ensuring that 
persons subject to the Exchange's jurisdiction, regulators, and the 
investing public can more easily navigate and understand the Exchange's 
rulebook. The Exchange also believes that eliminating obsolete rules 
would not be inconsistent with the public interest and the protection 
of investors because investors will not be harmed and in fact would 
benefit from increased transparency as to which rules are operable, 
thereby reducing potential confusion. Similarly, the Exchange believes 
that removing a cross-reference to obsolete requirements would remove 
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market 
because it would reduce potential confusion that may result from having 
such cross references in the Exchange's rulebook. Removing such 
obsolete cross references will also further the goal of transparency 
and add clarity to the Exchange's rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The proposed rule change is 
not intended to address competitive issues but rather to eliminate 
obsolete data submission requirements for trades on its Trading Floor.

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 foregoing proposed rule 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 
30 days from the date on which it was filed, 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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ The Exchange has fulfilled this requirement.
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \9\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule 
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such 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. If the Commission 
takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under 
section 19(b)(2)(B) \10\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed 
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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-NYSEMKT-2015-97 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-NYSEMKT-2015-97. This 
file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To 
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, 
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on 
the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all 
written statements with respect to the 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.,

[[Page 76335]]

Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing will also be available 
for inspection and copying at the NYSE's principal office and on its 
Internet Web site at www.nyse.com. 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-NYSEMKT-2015-97 and should be submitted on or before 
December 29, 2015.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-30837 Filed 12-7-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


