[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 24, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 46218-46220] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-21865] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34-41748; File No. SR-CBOE-99-34] Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc., Making Certain Changes to Its Fee Schedule August 16, 1999. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that on June 25, 1999 the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. (``CBOE'' or ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the CBOE.\3\ 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\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4. \3\ The CBOE originally submitted the proposal on June 25, 1999. On August 12, 1999, the CBOE submitted a letter from Stephanie C. Mullins, Attorney, CBOE, to Richard Strasser, Assistant Director, Division of Market Regulation (``Division''), Commission, amending the filing (``Amendment No. 1''). In Amendment No. 1, the CBOE proposes (1) to make all fee changes listed in this filing retroactive as of July 1, 1999, except for the $.35 paper ticket fee for manual trades by market-makers, (2) to withdraw the $.35 paper ticket fee, (3) to delete the discussions of the paper ticket fee in the filing, and (4) to amend the text of CBOE Rule 2.22(b) to reflect the fee change for registered representatives and registered options principals. On August 16, 1999, the CBOE subsequently amended Amendment No. 1 with a phone call from Stephanie C. Mullins, Attorney, CBOE, to Joseph Corcoran, Attorney, Division, Commission. In the phone call, the CBOE proposes to reinstate the $.35 paper ticket fee for manual trades by market-makers and make it effective as of January 24, 2000, and to amend the discussions of the paper ticket fee to reflect this change. Because of the substantive nature of the Amendments, the Commission deems the filing date to be August 16, 1999, the date of the final amendment. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The CBOE proposes to make certain changes to its fee schedule. The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Office of the Secretary, the CBOE and at the Commission. 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 Exchange 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 these 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 aspects of such statements. [[Page 46219]] A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The purpose of this proposed rule change is to make certain fee changes and additions; to reinstate and amend the Exchange's Prospective Fee Reduction Program; and to renew and amend its Customer ``Large'' Trade Discount Program. The foregoing fee changes are being implemented by the Exchange pursuant to DBOE Rule 2.22 and, unless otherwise noted, will take effect on July 1, 1999. The Exchange is amending the following fees. (1) The monthly fee to rent an SPX phone position will be increased from $300 to $500. (2) The monthly ABIL Brokerage Billing fee will be changed from .0075% of billed brokerage to $.005 per contract. The minimum monthly fee will be increased from $25 to $50 and the maximum monthly fee will be increased from $100 to $200. (3) The monthly fee for ORS Analysis will be increased from $50 to $100. (4) The monthly fee for the Floor Efficiency Project (``FEP'') will be increased from $50 to $100. (5) The subscriber fee for the Exchange Bulletin will be increased from $100 per year to $200 per year for each hard copy and from $50 per year to $100 per year for each electronic copy. Each member receives one free copy. This fee is charged to members for each additional copy and to non-member subscribers. (6) The Registered Representative fee will be increased from $25 to $35 for initial applications; and will be increased from $20 to $30 for annual and transfer applications. The ABIL Brokerage fee is being changed from a percentage of billed brokerage to a fixed rate. This service fee has been a function of the dollars billed. The ABIL client base is facing increasing competitive pressures to lower their charges. As they do so, they bill less brokerage, and the ABIL service fee shrinks accordingly even though the new discounts require more programming support rather than less. The proposed new service fee for ABIL processing converts this variable cost to a fixed rate, whether the agent bills or not. The increase in the floor and cap levels reflect increased paper and processing expenses. Additionally, the ORS Analysis and FEP Report costs are being increased to cover costs of printing paper copies, and to standardize fees for all monthly reports at $100. In addition, the CBOE proposes to implement the following new fees. (1) The fee to replace an I.D. Badge will be $15; the fee to replace an Acronym badge will be $15; and the fee for a temporary access badge for members will be $10 (this fee will only apply for the fourth temporary access badge issued in a calendar year; the first three badges are free of charge). The cost for clerks and floor managers currently is $10 for the fourth temporary access badge issued in a calendar year. (2) The following fee will be effective as of January 24, 2000. The Exchange proposes to assess a paper ticket fee of $.35 on all market-maker transactions for a market-maker whose manual trades exceed 15% of the total amount of trades done by the market-maker in any given month. The purpose of this new fee is to encourage market-makers to utilized hand- held terminals for entering orders as opposed to paper tickets, while not penalizing members when occasional system outages occur. (3) The Exchange proposes to institute a program whereby members who fail to change their appointments on a timely basis or meet their in-person trading requirements would be assessed a fee of $250 for any quarter. A letter of warning will be issued first followed by a $250 fee for those that fail to comply. The Exchange believes this will affect fewer than 15 people per calendar quarter. The Exchange proposes to reinstate and amend its Prospective Fee Reduction Program, subject to the Exchange having a minimum of $10 million in working capital. The program was suspended on March 1, 1999, and the Exchange now proposes to reinstate and renew the program with amendments. The program provides that if at the end of any quarter of the Exchange's fiscal year, the Exchange's average contract volume per day on a fiscal year-to-date basis exceeds one of certain predetermined volume thresholds, the Exchange's marker-maker transaction fees will be reduced in the following fiscal quarter in accordance with a fee reduction schedule. Trading Volume in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1999 will be used to determine the discount applied in the first quarter of fiscal year 2000. The CBOE proposes that the Program begin on July 1, 1999 at the beginning of the Exchange's 2000 fiscal year, and continue through the end of the Exchange's 2000 fiscal year, terminating June 30, 2000. Specifically, the CBOE proposes the following: the threshold volume at which a $.01 fee reduction applies will be 850,000 contracts; the threshold volume at which the $.02 fee reduction applies will be 900,000 contracts; the threshold volume at which a $.03 fee reduction applies will be 950,000 contracts; and the threshold volume at which a $.04 fee reduction applies will be 1,000,000 contracts and above. The Exchange's Index Customer ``Larger'' Trade Discount Program currently provides for discounts on the transaction fees that CBOE members pay with respect to non-equity public customer orders for 500 or more contracts. Specifically, for any month the Exchange's average contract volume per day exceeds one of certain predetermined volume thresholds, the transaction fees that are assessed by the Exchange in that month with respect to non-equity public customer orders for 500 or more contracts are subject to a discount in accordance with a discount schedule. The Program is scheduled to terminate on June 30, 1999 at the end of the Exchange's 1999 fiscal year. The CBOE proposes to amend the Program to provide that the Program will continue during the Exchange's 2000 fiscal year and will terminate on June 30, 2000. In addition to renewing the current fee discount percentages under the Program, CBOE proposes to amend the Program to increase by 100,000 contracts all the threshold levels to which the discount rates apply. For example, the threshold level is being increased from 650,000 to 750,000 contracts at which the 30% discount rate applies. The proposed amendments are the product of the Exchange's annual budget review. The amendments are structured to fairly allocate the costs of operating the Exchange in the event that the Exchange experiences higher volume. In addition, although the proposed rule change provides that the Exchange's Fee Reduction Program and the Exchange's Index Customer ``Large'' Trade Discount Program will terminate at the end of the Exchange's 2000 fiscal year, the Exchange intends to evaluate these Programs prior to the beginning of the 2001 fiscal year and may renew these Programs in the same or modified form for the 2001 fiscal year. 2. Statutory Basis The CBOE believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act,\4\ in general, and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\5\ in particular, in that it is designed to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other changes among CBOE members. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Page 46220]] 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. 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 rule change establishes or changes a due, fee, or other charge imposed by the Exchange, it has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \6\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 thereunder.\7\ At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule change, the Commission may summarily abrogate 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 proposes of the Act. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). \7\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.\8\ Persons making written submissions should file six copies thereof with the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. 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 inspection and copying at the Commission's Public Reference Room. Copies of such filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the CBOE. All submissions should refer to File No. SR-CBOE-99-34 and should be submitted by September 14, 1999. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \8\ In reviewing this proposal, the Commission has considered its potential impact on efficiency, competition and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated authority.\9\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [FR Doc. 99-21865 Filed 8-23-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8010-01-M