[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20737-20739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07774]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-88595; File No. SR-NYSEAMER-2020-25]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Modify 
the NYSE American Options Fee Schedule

April 8, 2020.
    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 April 1, 2020, NYSE American LLC (``NYSE American'' or 
the ``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 self-
regulatory organization. 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\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 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 modify the NYSE American Options Fee 
Schedule (``Fee Schedule'') to waive certain Floor-based fixed fees for 
the month of April 2020. The Exchange proposes to implement the fee 
change effective April 1, 2020. The proposed change is available on the 
Exchange's website 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 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The purpose of this filing is to modify the Fee Schedule to waive 
certain Floor-based fixed fees for the month of April 2020. The 
Exchange proposes to implement the fee change effective April 1, 2020.
    On March 18, 2020, the Exchange announced that it would temporarily 
close the Trading Floor, effective Monday, March 23, 2020, as a 
precautionary measure to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. 
Because the Trading Floor is temporarily unavailable, the Exchange 
proposes to waive for April 2020 certain Floor-based fixed fees. 
Specifically, for the month of April 2020, the Exchange proposes to 
waive fees associated with:
     Floor Access Fee;
     Floor Broker Handheld;
     Transport Charges;
     Floor Market Maker Podia;
     Booth Premises; and
     Wire Services.\4\
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    \4\ See proposed Fee Schedule, Section III.B, Monthly Trading 
Permit, Rights, Floor Access and Premium Product Fees, and IV. 
Monthly Floor Communication, Connectivity, Equipment and Booth or 
Podia Fees. The Exchange will re-evaluate the time limitations on 
this change (i.e., whether it will need to apply to May) depending 
upon how long the Trading Floor remains temporarily closed and would 
file a separate proposed rule change if an extension is warranted.
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    The Exchange notes that these fixed fees, which relate directly to 
Floor operations, are charged only to Floor participants and do not 
apply to participants that conduct business off-Floor. These fees are 
unrelated to trading volume and are charged for use of services made 
available to Floor participants on the Trading Floor. This proposed 
change is designed to reduce monthly costs for Floor participants while 
the Trading Floor is temporarily closed and Floor participants are 
unable to use the services associated with these fixed fees. The 
Exchange believes that this fee waiver would ease the financial burden 
and allow affected participants to reallocate funds to assist with the 
cost of shifting operations from on-Floor to off-Floor. Absent this 
change, such participants may experience an unintended increase in the 
cost of doing business on the Exchange.\5\
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    \5\ The Exchange will refund participants of the Floor Broker 
Prepayment Program for any prepaid April 2020 fees that are waived. 
See proposed Fee Schedule, Section III.E (providing that ``the 
Exchange will refund certain of the prepaid Eligible Fixed costs 
that were waived for April 2020, per Sections III.B and IV'').

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[[Page 20738]]

    The Exchange believes that all ATP Holders that conduct business on 
the Trading Floor would benefit from this proposed fee change.

2. Statutory Basis

    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\6\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and (5) of the Act,\7\ in particular, 
because it provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 
fees, and other charges among its members, issuers and other persons 
using its facilities and does not unfairly discriminate between 
customers, issuers, brokers or dealers.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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The Proposed Rule Change Is Reasonable
    The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market. The 
Commission has repeatedly expressed its preference for competition over 
regulatory intervention in determining prices, products, and services 
in the securities markets. In Regulation NMS, the Commission 
highlighted the importance of market forces in determining prices and 
SRO revenues and, also, recognized that current regulation of the 
market system ``has been remarkably successful in promoting market 
competition in its broader forms that are most important to investors 
and listed companies.'' \8\
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    \8\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 
2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005) (S7-10-04) (``Reg NMS 
Adopting Release'').
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    There are currently 16 registered options exchanges competing for 
order flow. Based on publicly-available information, and excluding 
index-based options, no single exchange has more than 16% of the market 
share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity and ETF options 
trades.\9\ Therefore, currently no exchange possesses significant 
pricing power in the execution of multiply-listed equity & ETF options 
order flow. More specifically, in January 2020, the Exchange had less 
than 10% market share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity & 
ETF options trades.\10\
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    \9\ The OCC publishes options and futures volume in a variety of 
formats, including daily and monthly volume by exchange, available 
here: https://www.theocc.com/market-data/volume/default.jsp.
    \10\ Based on OCC data, see id., the Exchange's market share in 
equity-based options declined from 9.82% for the month of January 
2019 to 8.08% for the month of January 2020.
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    This proposed change is designed to reduce monthly costs for Floor 
participants that are unable to conduct Floor operations, including any 
open outcry trading, while the Trading Floor is temporarily closed. The 
Exchange believes that this fee waiver would ease the financial burden 
and allow affected participants to reallocate funds to assist with the 
cost of shifting operations from on-Floor to off-Floor. Absent this 
change, such participants may experience an unintended increase in the 
cost of doing business on the Exchange.
    The Exchange believes that all ATP Holders that conduct business on 
the Trading Floor would benefit from this proposed fee change.
The Proposed Rule Change is an Equitable Allocation of Credits and Fees
    The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is an equitable 
allocation of its fees and credits. The proposal waives certain Floor-
based fixed fees for the month of April 2020, during the period that 
the Trading Floor is temporarily closed. The fees being waived are 
charged only to Floor participants and do not apply to participants 
that conduct business off-Floor. These fees are unrelated to trading 
volume and are charged for use of services made available to Floor 
participants on the Trading Floor. This proposed change is equitable as 
it is designed to reduce monthly costs for Floor participants that are 
unable to conduct Floor operations. The Exchange believes that this fee 
waiver would allow affected participants to reallocate funds to assist 
with the cost of shifting operations from on-Floor to off-Floor. Absent 
this change, such participants may experience an unintended increase in 
the cost of doing business on the Exchange.
The Proposed Rule Change Is Not Unfairly Discriminatory
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is not unfairly 
discriminatory because the proposed modifications would affect all 
similarly-situated market participants on an equal and non-
discriminatory basis. The Exchange is not proposing to waive the Floor-
related fixed fees indefinitely, but rather only during the period that 
the Trading Floor is temporarily closed. The proposed fee change is 
designed to ease the financial burden and allow affected participants 
to reallocate funds to assist with the cost of shifting operations from 
on-Floor to off-Floor. Absent this change, such participants may 
experience an unintended increase in the cost of doing business on the 
Exchange.
    Finally, the Exchange believes that it is subject to significant 
competitive forces, as described below in the Exchange's statement 
regarding the burden on competition.

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

    In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act, the Exchange does 
not believe that the proposed rule change would impose any burden on 
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the 
purposes of the Act. The Exchange believes that the proposed changes 
would encourage the continued participation of affected ATP Holders, 
thereby promoting market depth, price discovery and transparency and 
enhancing order execution opportunities for all market participants. As 
a result, the Exchange believes that the proposed change furthers the 
Commission's goal in adopting Regulation NMS of fostering integrated 
competition among orders, which promotes ``more efficient pricing of 
individual stocks for all types of orders, large and small.'' \11\
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    \11\ See Reg NMS Adopting Release, supra note 8, at 37499.
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    Intramarket Competition. The proposed fee change is designed to 
ease the financial burden and allow affected participants to reallocate 
funds to assist with the cost of shifting operations from on-Floor to 
off-Floor. Absent this change, such participants may experience an 
unintended increase in the cost of doing business on the Exchange. The 
Exchange believes that the proposed waiver of fees would not impose a 
disparate burden on competition among market participants on the 
Exchange because off-Floor market participants are not subject to these 
Floor-based fixed fees.
    Intermarket Competition. The Exchange operates in a highly 
competitive market in which market participants can readily favor one 
of the 16 competing option exchanges if they deem fee levels at a 
particular venue to be excessive. In such an environment, the Exchange 
must continually adjust its fees to remain competitive with other 
exchanges and to attract order flow to the Exchange. Based on publicly-
available information, and excluding index-based options, no single 
exchange currently has more than 16% of the market share of executed 
volume of multiply-listed equity and ETF options trades.\12\ Therefore, 
currently no exchange possesses significant pricing power in the 
execution of multiply-listed equity & ETF options order flow. More 
specifically, in January 2020, the Exchange had less than 10% market

[[Page 20739]]

share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity & ETF options 
trades.\13\
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    \12\ See supra note 9.
    \13\ Based on OCC data, supra note 10, the Exchange's market 
share in equity-based options was 9.82% for the month of January 
2019 and 8.08% for the month of January, 2020.
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    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change reflects this 
competitive environment because it modifies the Exchange's fees in a 
manner designed to ease the financial burden and allow affected 
participants to reallocate funds to assist with the cost of shifting 
operations from on-Floor to off-Floor. Absent this change, such 
participants may experience an unintended increase in the cost of doing 
business on the Exchange, which would make the Exchange a less 
competitive venue on which to trade as compared to other options 
exchanges.

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

    The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to 
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \14\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 
19b-4 \15\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other 
charge imposed by the Exchange.
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    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \15\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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    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) \16\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed 
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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    \16\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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 rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-NYSEAMER-2020-25 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-NYSEAMER-2020-25. 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 Number SR-NYSEAMER-2020-25 and should be submitted 
on or before May 5, 2020.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
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    \17\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-07774 Filed 4-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


