[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 202 (Thursday, October 19, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54093-54094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-25928]



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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-36364; File No. SR-OPRA-95-1]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Amendment to OPRA Fee Schedule Revising the 
Information Fees Payable by Professional Subscribers to Last Sale and 
Quotation Information

October 12, 1995.
    Pursuant to Rule 11Aa3-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Exchange Act''), notice is hereby given that on September 15, 1995, 
the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRAS'') \1\ submitted to the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') an 
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale 
Reports and Quotation Information (``Plan''). The amendment revises the 
information fees payable by professional subscribers to last sale and 
quotation information. OPRA has designated this proposal as 
establishing or changing a fee or other charge collected on behalf of 
all of the OPRA participants in connection with access to or use of 
OPRA facilities, permitting the proposal to become effective upon 
filing pursuant to Rule 11Aa3-2(c)(3)(i) under the Exchange Act. The 
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments from 
interested persons on the amendment.

    \1\ OPRA is a National Market System Plan approved by the 
Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Exchange Act and Rule 
11Aa3-2 thereunder. Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (Mar. 
18, 1981).
    The Plan provides for the collection and dissemination of last 
sale and quotation information on options that are traded on the 
five member exchanges. The five exchanges which agreed to the OPRA 
Plan are the American Stock Exchange (``AMEX''); the Chicago Board 
Options Exchange (``CBOE''); the New York Stock Exchange (``NYSE''); 
the Pacific Stock Exchange (``PSE''); and the Philadelphia Stock 
Exchange (``PHLX'').
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I. Description and Purpose of the Amendment

    The purpose of the amendment is to revise the fees payable to OPRA 
by professional subscribers for access to securities options market 
data and related information (``OPRA data''), so that a greater share 
of the costs of collecting, consolidating, processing and transmitting 
OPRA data will be covered by these fees.\2\ Professional subscribers 
are those persons that subscribe to OPRA data and do not qualify for 
the reduced fees charged to nonprofessional subscribers. OPRA's 
professional subscriber fees were last revised in 1991, over a four 
year period beginning in January 1992 and ending in January 1995.

    \2\ Concurrently with this filing, OPRA has filed an amendment 
to the OPRA Plan proposing a new fee payable by subscribers to 
OPRA's foreign currency option (``FCO'') service, effective January 
1, 1996. The separate proposal has been made pursuant to the OPRA 
Plan as amended effective March 14, 1995, that authorizes OPRA to 
impose separate fees for access to or for the use of information 
pertaining solely to FCOs. Upon the effectiveness of the foreign 
currency option subscriber fee, therefore, OPRA's basic professional 
and nonprofessional subscriber fees will cover access to all OPRA 
data except for data pertaining to FCOs.
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    The current schedule of professional subscriber fees offers volume 
discounts to larger subscribers by reducing the fee per device as the 
total number of devices maintained by a subscriber increases. There are 
six separate pricing tiers covering the range from one device to 750 or 
more devices per subscriber. In addition, the schedule provides for 
discounts to subscribers that are members of one or more of OPRA's 
participating exchanges.
    OPRA is proposing the fee changes because, over the four years that 
have elapsed since the last professional subscriber fee change was 
authorized in 1991, the costs of collecting, processing, consolidating 
and disseminating options last sale and bid/ask information have 
increased. In large part, the increase is due to the implementation of 
systems and equipment upgrades and additions that have enhanced the 
capacity, reliability, and security of the OPRA system. Further, OPRA 
anticipates that these costs will continue to escalate. OPRA believes 
that the costs associated with the processing of OPRA data are largely 
independent of trading volume and, therefore, it has determined that a 
larger share of such costs should be covered by revenues that also are 
largely independent of volume. The proposed amendment is intended to 
achieve this objective, and to allocate market information fees fairly 
among the different categories of professional subscribers that pay 
such fees.
    OPRA proposes to implement the amendment in four stages. The 
implementation will take place on January 1 in each of the years 1996, 
1997, 1998, and 1999. Over this period, changes will be made both to 
the structure and level of the fees charged to professional 
subscribers. Structurally, the proposed amendment retains the concept 
of a volume discount. Over the course of the four year phase-in, 
however, the number of tiers will be reduced from six to two. In 
addition, a member firm discount will be maintained during the first 
three years of the phase-in, but will be eliminated in the four year. 
These structural changes are being proposed in order to simplify the 
administration of the professional subscriber fee for OPRA, its vendors 
and subscribers.
    Changes in the level of OPRA's professional subscriber fees will 
reduce the fees paid by smaller and medium-size subscribers and 
increase the fees paid by larger subscribers. By the end of the phase-
in period, the fee paid by subscribers having less than 100 devices 
will be established at a flat monthly rate of $19 per device. This will 
result in a fee reduction for subscribers that have less than ten 
devices and currently pay monthly device charges ranging from $22 to 
$55 ($23 to $55 for nonmembers), and an increase for subscribers that 
have from 10 to 99 devices and currently pay monthly device charges 
ranging from $10 to $13 ($11 to $14 for nonmembers). By the end of the 
same period, the fee paid by subscribers with 100 or more devices will 
be established at a flat monthly rate of $11 per device. This flat rate 
compares with current monthly charges from $8 to $10 ($9 to $11 for 
nonmembers) paid by these larger subscribers. Assuming no change to the 
size or distribution of OPRA's total professional base, OPRA estimates 
that the net result of the fee changes in professional subscriber fees 
over the entire implementation period is estimated to result in an 
overall increase of 4.9%, 4.8%, 5.4%, and 5.3% at the end of each year 
respectively.

II. Solicitation of Comments

    Pursuant to Rule 11Aa3-2(c)(3), the amendment is effective upon 
filing with the Commission. The Commission may summarily abrogate the 
amendment within 60 days of its fling and require refiling and approval 
of the amendment by Commission order pursuant to Rule 11Aa3-2(c)(2), if 
it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or 
appropriate in the public interest; for the protection of investors and 
the maintenance of fair and orderly markets; to remove impediments to, 
and perfect the mechanisms of, a National Market System; or otherwise 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Exchange Act.
    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing. 

[[Page 54094]]
Persons making written submissions should file six copies thereof with 
the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, 
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of the submission, all subsequent 
amendments, and 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 withheld from the public in 
accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for 
inspection and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room. 
Copies of the filing also will be available at the principal offices of 
OPRA. All submissions should refer to file number SR-OPRA-95-1 and 
should be submitted by November 9, 1995.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\3\

    \3\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
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Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-25928 Filed 10-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M