[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85769-85771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28671]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-90750; File No. SR-NYSE-2020-101]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To 
Amend Exchange Rules To Delete Rules That Are Not Applicable to Trading 
on the Pillar Trading Platform

December 21, 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 December 9, 2020, New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' 
or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I 
and II 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 amend Exchange rules to delete rules that 
are not applicable to trading on the Pillar trading platform or are 
otherwise obsolete. The proposed rule 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 the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to amend its rules to delete rules that are 
not applicable to trading on the Pillar trading platform or are 
otherwise obsolete.
    To effect its transition of trading to the Pillar platform, the 
Exchange adopted Rules 1P through 13P. In addition, because certain 
Exchange rules pertaining to trading on a floor-based trading platform 
are not applicable to trading on the Pillar platform, the Exchange 
designated specified rules governing such trading with the following 
preamble: ``This rule is not applicable to trading on the Pillar 
trading platform.'' \4\
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    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 85962 (May 29, 
2019), 84 FR 26188 (June 5, 2019) and 81225 (July 27, 2017), 82 FR 
36033 (August 2, 2017) (SR-NYSE-2017-35).
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    On August 22, 2019, the Exchange completed its transition of all 
trading to the Pillar platform. Because the rules that are not 
applicable to trading on the Pillar trading platform are now obsolete, 
the Exchange proposes to delete rules that have been replaced by a 
Pillar rule. The following chart sets forth the proposed rules for 
deletion (left-hand column) and applicable Pillar rule (right-hand 
column):

------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Rule proposed for deletion             Applicable Pillar rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rule 4 (Stock).........................  Rule 1.1(r) (NMS Stock).
Rule 7 (Exchange BBO)..................  Rule 1.1(c) (BBO).
Rule 13 (Orders and Modifiers),          Rule 7.31 (Orders and
 provided that the Exchange proposes to   Modifiers).
 retain the definition of ``retail''
 modifier as set forth in Rule 13(f)(2)
 and proposes to rename Rule 13 as
 ``Retail Modifiers.''
Rule 14 (Bid or Offer Deemed Regular     Rule 7.8 (Bid or Offer Deemed
 Way).                                    Regular Way).
Rule 15 (Pre-Opening Indications and     Rule 7.35 (General) and Rule
 Opening Order Imbalance Information).    7.35A (DMM-Facilitated Core
                                          Open and Trading Halt
                                          Auctions).
Rule 15A (Order Protection Rule).......  Rule 7.37 (Order Execution and
                                          Routing).
Rule 19 (Locking or Crossing Protected   Rule 7.37 (Order Execution and
 Quotations in NMS Stocks).               Routing).
Rule 51 (Hours for Business)...........  Rule 7.1 (Hours of Business)
                                          and Rule 7.2 (Holidays).
Rule 52 (Dealings on the Exchange--      Rule 7.34 (Trading Sessions).
 Hours).
Rule 55 (Unit of Trading--Stocks and     Rule 7.5 (Trading Units).
 Bonds).
Rule 56 (Unit of Trading--Rights)......  Rule 7.5 (Trading Units).
Rule 60 (Dissemination of Quotations)..  Rule 7.17 (Firm Orders and
                                          Quotes).
Rule 61 (Recognized Quotations)........  Rule 7.5 (Trading Units).
Rule 62 (Variations)...................  Rule 7.6 (Trading
                                          Differentials).
Rule 70 (Execution of Floor Broker       Rule 7.31 (Orders and
 Interest), provided that the Exchange    Modifiers).
 proposes to retain Supplementary
 Material .30 and .40 to this Rule and
 proposes to rename Rule 70 as
 ``Operation of an Exchange-Approved
 Booth Premise''.
Rule 72 (Priority of Bids and Offers     Rule 7.36 (Order Ranking and
 and Allocation of Executions),           Display) and Rule 7.37 (Order
 provided that the Exchange proposes to   Execution and Routing).
 retain paragraph (d) and Supplementary
 Material .10 of this Rule and proposes
 to rename Rule 72 as ``Priority of
 Cross Transactions''.
Rule 79A (Miscellaneous Requirements on  Rule 7.36 (Order Ranking and
 Stock Market Procedures).                Display) and Rule 7.37 (Order
                                          Execution and Routing).
Rule 80C (Limit Up-Limit Down Plan and   Rule 7.11 (Limit Up-Limit Down
 Trading Pauses in Individual             Plan and Trading Pauses in
 Securities Due to Extraordinary Market   Individual Securities Due to
 Volatility).                             Extraordinary Market
                                          Volatility).
Rule 107C (Retail Liquidity Program)...  Rule 7.44 (Retail Liquidity
                                          Program).

[[Page 85770]]

 
Rule 115A (Orders at Opening)..........  Rule 7.35 (General) and Rule
                                          7.35A (DMM-Facilitated Core
                                          Open and Trading Halt
                                          Auctions).
Rule 116 (``Stop'' Constitutes           Rule 7.35B (DMM-Facilitated
 Guarantee).                              Closing Auctions).
Rule 123C (The Closing Procedures).....  Rule 1.1(s) (Definition of
                                          Official Closing Price), Rule
                                          7.35 (General), Rule 7.35C
                                          (DMM-Facilitated Closing
                                          Auctions), and Rule 7.35C
                                          (Exchange-Facilitated
                                          Auctions).
Rule 123D (Openings and Halts in         Rule 7.35A (DMM-Facilitated
 Trading), provided that the Exchange     Core Open and Trading Halt
 proposes to retain paragraphs (d) and    Auctions) and Rule 7.35C
 (e) of this Rule and proposes to         (Exchange-facilitated
 rename Rule 123D as ``Halts in           Auctions).
 Trading''.
Rule 127 (Block Crosses Outside the      Not available.
 Prevailing NYSE Quotation).
Rule 128 (Clearly Erroneous Executions   Rule 7.10 (Clearly Erroneous
 for NYSE Equities).                      Executions).
Rule 1000 (Automatic Executions).......  Rule 7.32 (Order Entry) and
                                          Rule 7.37 (Order Execution and
                                          Routing).
Rule 1001 (Execution of Automatically    Rule 7.37 (Order Execution and
 Executing Orders).                       Routing).
Rule 1002 (Availability of Automatic     Rule 7.37 (Order Execution and
 Execution Feature.                       Routing).
Rule 1004 (Election of Buy Minus Zero    Rule 7.31 (Orders and
 Plus Orders).                            Modifiers).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, the Exchange proposes to delete the following rules in 
their entirety as obsolete:

     Rule 133. Comparison--Non-cleared Transactions
     Rule 136. Comparison--Transactions Excluded from a 
Clearance
     Rule 137. Written Contracts
     Rule 137A. Samples of Written Contracts
     Rule 139. Recording
     Rule 140. Members Closing Contracts--Conditions
     Rule 141. ``Fail to Deliver'' Confirmations
     Rule 142. Effect on Contracts of Errors in Comparison, 
etc.
     Marking to the Market (Rules 165-168)
     Settlement of Contracts (Rules 175-227), with the 
exception of Supplementary Material .20 to Rule 200 (Assignments--By 
Member Organization)
     Dividends, Interest, Rights, etc. (Rules 235-251), with 
the exception of Rule 235 (Ex-Dividend, Ex-Rights) and Rule 236 (Ex-
Warrants) \5\
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    \5\ The Exchange proposes to retain the section header 
``Dividends, Interest, Rights, etc.'' and proposes to update the 
parenthetical to include only Rules 235 and 236.
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     Due-Bills (Rules 255-259)
     Reclamations (Rules 265-275)
     Closing Contracts (Rules 280-295), with the exception of 
Rule 282 (Buy-in Procedures)
     Liquidation of Securities Loans and Borrowings (Rule 296)
     Miscellaneous Floor Procedure (Rules 297-299C)
2. Statutory Basis
    The proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act''),\6\ in general, and 
furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5),\7\ in particular, because 
it is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and 
practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster 
cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in facilitating 
transactions in securities, to remove impediments to, and perfect the 
mechanism of, a free and open market and a national market system and, 
in general, to protect investors and the public interest.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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    The Exchange believes that its proposed rule change would remove 
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and 
a national market system because it would eliminate rules that are now 
obsolete. The elimination of obsolete rules would reduce potential 
confusion and improve the clarity of the Exchange's rules, thereby 
ensuring that members, regulators, and the public can more easily 
navigate and understand the Exchange's rulebook.

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 change is not 
designed to address any competitive issue, but rather it is designed to 
eliminate obsolete rules and enhance the clarity of the Exchange's 
rules.

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 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 30 days after the date of the filing, or such 
shorter time as the Commission may designate, it has become effective 
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \8\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \9\ 
thereunder.
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \9\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6) 
requires a self-regulatory organization to give 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. 
The Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
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    The Exchange has asked the Commission to waive the 30-day operative 
delay.\10\ The Commission finds that waiving the 30-day operative delay 
is consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest 
because waiver of the operative delay will eliminate the potential for 
confusion and improve clarity by eliminating rules that are no longer 
applicable or are otherwise obsolete. Accordingly, the Commission 
hereby waives the 30-day operative delay and designates the proposal 
operative upon filing.\11\
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    \10\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
    \11\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay, 
the Commission has considered the proposed rule change's impact on 
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the 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 to 
determine whether the proposed rule should be approved or disapproved.

[[Page 85771]]

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-NYSE-2020-101 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-NYSE-2020-101. 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-NYSE-2020-101 and should be submitted on 
or before January 19, 2021.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
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    \12\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-28671 Filed 12-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


