[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18963-18964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9312]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-45728; File No. SR-Amex-2002-17]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by American Stock Exchange LLC 
Relating to IntraDay Comparison Fees for Equities

April 10, 2002.
    Pursuant to section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ notice is hereby given that on March 20, 2002, the 
American Stock Exchange LLC (``Amex'' 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 Exchange. 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).
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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 the Amex's Registration and IntraDay 
Comparison (``IDC'') Fees Schedule relating to Equity IDC Fees. New 
language is in italics.

Registration and IDC Fees

    I. Membership Registration
    No change
    II. Options IDC
    No change
    III. Equities IDC
    Dedicated Access  $200/month
    User I.D.  50/month

Transaction Processing Fee

    (applied to T0 trades):

Shares per side

    1-999  0.00 per side
    1,000-2,999  0.03 per side
    3,000 +  0.09 per side

Questioned Trade Charge

    (applied to T+1, T+2, etc. trades):  0.20 per side

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 Amex has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections 
A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Amex will be implementing a new trade comparison system for 
equities called Intra-Day Comparison System for Equities (``IDC-E''), 
as developed by the Securities Industry Automation Corporation 
(``SIAC''). IDC-E will provide real-time intra-day trade comparisons 
applicable to all trades, including system and non-system trades. 
System trades include executions of orders entered in the Amex Order 
File (``AOF''), the Exchange's automated order routing facility; non-
system trades include execution of orders not entered into AOF (e.g., 
crowd to crowd trades). The benefits of intra-day comparison include 
reduction of the uncompared rate for equities, improvement in trade 
processing efficiency, and reduction of risk to member firms resulting 
from open positions.
    Amex proposes to charge the following IDC-E transaction processing 
fees to Amex clearing firm members, effective May 1, 2002. The 
Questioned Trade Charge per questioned trade (applied to T+1, T+2, etc. 
trades) will be $0.20 per side. The transaction processing fee for 
transactions submitted for trade date comparison (per side) will be 
$0.03 for transactions of 1,000-2,999 shares per side, and $0.09 for 
transactions of 3,000 shares or more per side. (Transactions of less 
than 1,000 shares per side will not be charged.)
    The Exchange also proposes to charge each clearing firm member a 
Dedicated Remote Access Fee of $2,400 annually. This is equal to Amex's 
Dedicated Remote Access fee of $2,400 per year for Intra-Day Comparison 
for Options (``IDC-O''). The Exchange will charge each clearing firm 
member $600

[[Page 18964]]

annually for User ID's, equal to AMEX's User ID fee of $600 per year 
for IDC-O.
    IDC-E charges are intended to be cost-neutral to the clearing firm 
members and are not expected to result in overall increased comparison 
charges for clearing firm members.
2. Statutory  Basis
    The proposed rule change is consistent with section 6(b) of the Act 
\2\ in general and furthers the objectives of section 6(b)(4) of the 
Act \3\ in particular in that it is designed to provide for the 
equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among 
its members and issuers and other persons using its facilities.
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    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \4\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder \5\ because it establishes or changes a due, fee, or other 
charge. At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule 
change, the Commission may summarily abrogate such rule change if it 
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary of appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise 
in the furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \5\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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. 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 in the 
Commission's Public Reference Room. Copies of such filing will also be 
available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the 
Amex. All submissions should refer to File No. SR-Amex-2002-17 and 
should be submitted by May 8, 2002.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\6\
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    \6\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-9312 Filed 4-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P