[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 81 (Monday, April 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23383-23384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08795]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-88704; File No. 4-631]


Joint Industry Plan; Order Approving the Twentieth Amendment to 
the National Market System Plan To Address Extraordinary Market 
Volatility by Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc., Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., Cboe 
EDGA Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc., Chicago Stock Exchange, 
Inc., Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., Investors Exchange 
LLC, Long-Term Stock Exchange, NASDAQ BX, Inc., NASDAQ PHLX LLC, The 
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, NYSE National, Inc., New York Stock Exchange 
LLC, NYSE American LLC, and NYSE Arca, Inc.

April 21, 2020

I. Introduction

    On February 14, 2020, NYSE Group, Inc., on behalf of the following 
parties to the National Market System Plan to Address Extraordinary 
Market Volatility (``the Plan''): Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., Cboe BYX 
Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc., 
Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc., the Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority, Inc. (``FINRA''), Investors Exchange LLC, Long-Term Stock 
Exchange (``LTSE''), NASDAQ BX, Inc., NASDAQ PHLX LLC, The NASDAQ Stock 
Market LLC (``Nasdaq''), New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE''), NYSE 
Arca, Inc., NYSE National Inc., and NYSE American LLC (collectively, 
the ``Participants'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') pursuant to Section 11A(a)(3) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ 
a proposal to amend the Plan (``Twentieth Amendment'').\3\ The proposed 
Twentieth Amendment was published in the Federal Register on March 23, 
2020.\4\ The Commission received no comments on the proposal.

[[Page 23384]]

This Order approves the Twentieth Amendment to the Plan as proposed.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1(a)(3).
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ See Letter from Elizabeth King, General Counsel and 
Corporate Secretary, NYSE, to Vanessa Countryman, Secretary, 
Commission, dated February 13, 2020.
    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 88406 (March 17, 
2020), 85 FR 16408 (``Notice'').
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II. Background

    The Plan was approved in May 2012 on a pilot basis to ``allow the 
Participants and the public to gain valuable practical experience with 
Plan operations during the pilot period'' and to assess ``whether 
further modifications of the Plan are necessary or appropriate prior to 
final approval.'' \5\ On April 11, 2019, the Commission approved the 
Eighteenth Amendment to the Plan, which transitioned the Plan from 
operating on a pilot to a permanent basis and adopted a mechanism for 
periodic review and assessment of the Plan.\6\ As part of the mechanism 
for periodic review and assessment of the Plan, the Participants 
committed to provide the Commission with certain data on a quarterly 
and annual basis. In particular, the Participants agreed to provide the 
Commission, and make publicly available, quarterly reports providing 
basic statistics that could be used to identify trends in the 
performance and impact of the Plan on market activity. The Participants 
added to the Plan Section II.B of Appendix B (``Appendix B.II.B'') to 
specify the specific data points that would be included in the 
quarterly reports.
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    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67091, 77 FR 33498 
(June 6, 2012) (File No. 4-631) (``Plan Approval Order'') (approving 
Plan as amended).
    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85623, 84 FR 16086 
(April 17, 2019) (``Eighteenth Amendment Approval Order'').
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III. Description of the Proposal

    The Participants propose to amend Appendix B.II.B to improve its 
clarity and transparency by revising and supplementing the current 
language.\7\ The Participants stated that, in the course of preparing 
to compile and aggregate the data required for the first quarterly 
report, they determined that the language of Appendix B.II.B could be 
improved by, among other things: (a) Emphasizing from the outset that 
the data should be aggregated across primary listing exchanges, (b) 
specifying the specific partitions that should be applied to each data 
point, (c) specifying the specific distribution statistics that should 
be applied to each data point, and (d) providing additional clarity as 
to what reopening data should be included.\8\
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    \7\ The Participants also propose to make a non-substantive 
amendment to the Plan to reflect the name change of Chicago Stock 
Exchange, Inc. to NYSE Chicago, Inc and to change its address.
    \8\ See Notice supra note 4 at 85 FR 16409-11, for a more 
detailed description of proposed changes to Appendix B.II.B.
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IV. Discussion

    The Commission finds that the Twentieth Amendment, as proposed, is 
consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and 
regulations thereunder. Specifically, the Commission finds that the 
Twentieth Amendment is consistent with Section 11A of the Act \9\ and 
Rule 608 thereunder \10\ in that the proposal is appropriate in the 
public interest, for the protection of investors and the maintenance of 
fair and orderly markets, and that it removes impediments to, and 
perfects the mechanism of, a national market system.
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    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \10\ 17 CFR 242.608.
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    The Commission continues to believe, as it stated in the Eighteenth 
Amendment Approval Order, that ``the ongoing review and assessment 
requirements proposed by the Participants will both facilitate a 
robust, data-driven assessment of the Plan's effectiveness and provide 
the Commission and the public sufficient transparency of the 
effectiveness of the LULD mechanism necessary to help ensure the Plan 
remains designed to achieve its objective.'' \11\ We believe that the 
changes proposed in the Twentieth Amendments are consistent with these 
previously stated policy goals. Specifically, the proposed changes, 
which effectuate an important clarification concerning the method for 
aggregating data and precise descriptions of the required data elements 
for each quarterly report, will improve the Participants' ability to 
produce for the Commission and the public high-quality quarterly 
reports. For these reasons, the Commission finds that the proposed 
changes to Appendix B.II.B contained in the Twentieth Amendment are 
consistent with Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608 thereunder.
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    \11\ See Eighteenth Amendment Approval Order, supra note 6, at 
84 FR 16086.
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V. Conclusion

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 11A of the Act \12\ 
and Rule 608 thereunder,\13\ that the Twentieth Amendment to the Plan 
(File No. 4-631) be, and it hereby is, approved.
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    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \13\ 17 CFR 242.608.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\14\
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    \14\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-08795 Filed 4-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE P


