[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65383-65384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-27118]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-46675; File No. SR-OPRA-2002-04]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Amendment to OPRA Plan to Revise Fees Charged by OPRA

October 17, 2002.
    Pursuant to Rule 11Aa3-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ notice is hereby given that on October 4, 2002, the 
Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'')\2\ submitted to the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') an 
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale 
Reports and

[[Page 65384]]

Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan''). The proposed OPRA Plan amendment 
would revise device-based and Enterprise Rate professional subscriber 
fees charged by OPRA in respect of its Basic Service, and eliminate 
OPRA's ``Back-up Facility Access Fee.'' The Commission is publishing 
this notice to solicit comments from interested persons on the proposed 
OPRA Plan amendment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2.
    \2\ OPRA is a national market system plan approved by the 
Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 11Aa3-2 
thereunder. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (Mar. 18, 
1981). The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and dissemination 
of last sale and quotation information on options that are traded on 
the member exchanges. The five participants to the OPRA Plan that 
operate an options market are the American Stock Exchange LLC, the 
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc., the International Securities 
Exchange LLC, the Pacific Exchange, Inc., and the Philadelphia Stock 
Exchange, Inc. The New York Stock Exchange, Inc. is a signatory to 
the OPRA Plan, but sold its options business to the CBOE in 1997. 
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 38542 (April 23, 1997), 62 
FR 23521 (April 30, 1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Description and Purpose of the Amendment

    The purpose of the amendment is to make modest increases in device-
based and Enterprise Rate professional subscriber fees charged by OPRA 
in respect of its Basic Service. Specifically, OPRA proposes to 
increase by amounts ranging from 7.39% to 8.11% the device-based 
information fee payable to OPRA by professional subscribers to OPRA's 
Basic Service, and to increase by 7.5% the Enterprise Rate fee that 
these same subscribers may elect to pay as an alternative to the 
device-based fee. OPRA's Basic Service consists of market data and 
related information pertaining to equity and index options (``OPRA 
Data'').\3\ Professional subscribers are persons who subscribe to OPRA 
Data and do not qualify for the reduced fees charged to nonprofessional 
subscribers. OPRA's Enterprise Rate is based on the number of a 
professional subscriber's U.S. registered representatives and 
independent investment advisers who contract with the subscriber to 
provide advisory services to the subscriber's customers. Professional 
subscriber device-based fees charged to members will continue to be 
discounted by two percent for members who preauthorize payment by 
electronic funds transfer through an automated clearinghouse system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ At this time, no changes are proposed to be made to fees 
charged for access to information pertaining to foreign currency 
options (``FCO'') provided through OPRA's FCO Service.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    OPRA estimates that the overall effect of the proposed increases in 
Basic Service professional subscriber fees will be to increase revenues 
derived from these fees by approximately 7.5%.
    The proposed increases in the device-based professional subscriber 
fees and in the Enterprise Rate fee are intended to generate additional 
revenues for OPRA that are needed to cover actual and anticipated 
increases in the costs of collecting, consolidating, processing and 
disseminating options market. These increases reflect the costs of 
continuing enhancements to and upgrades of the OPRA system to enable it 
to handle a greater volume of market information as a result of the 
continuing expansion of listed options trading, and to support OPRA's 
proposed new ``best bid and offer'' service planned for early 2003.
    OPRA also proposes to eliminate its ``Back-up Facility Access 
Fee,'' in order to eliminate any possible impact this fee may have on 
discouraging OPRA's subscribers from establishing prudent back-up 
facilities.\4\ Devices used solely as part of a back-up facility will 
no longer be subject to fees imposed by OPRA unless and until they are 
actually used in support of a professional subscriber's operations, in 
which event regular professional subscriber device charges will apply 
for each month in which such devices are so used.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The Back-up Facility Access Fee does not apply to OPRA's FCO 
Service.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan Amendment

    Pursuant to paragraph (c)(3)(i) of Rule 11Aa3-2 under the Act,\5\ 
OPRA designates this amendment 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, thereby qualifying 
for effectiveness upon filing. The Commission may summarily abrogate 
the amendment within sixty days of its filing and require refiling and 
approval of the amendment by Commission order pursuant to Rule 11Aa3-
2(c)(2) under the Act,\6\ 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 Act. In order to give persons subject to these fees advance notice 
of the changes, OPRA proposes to put them into effect beginning January 
1, 2003.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2(c)(3)(i).
    \6\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2(c)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment 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, and 
all written statements with respect to the proposed OPRA Plan amendment 
that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications 
relating to the proposed OPRA Plan amendment 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 No. SR-OPRA-2002-04 and should be 
submitted by November 14, 2002.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-27118 Filed 10-23-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P