[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28587-28588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-2481]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-51685; File No. SR-Amex-2005-050]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; American Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 
Relating to the Options Marketing Fee for Options on SPDRs

May 11, 2005.
    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 April 28, 2005, 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 Amex. The Amex has 
designated this proposal as one establishing or changing a due, fee, or 
other charge imposed by the Amex under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the 
Act,\3\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposal 
effective upon filing with the Commission. 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\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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 its marketing fee imposed on certain 
transactions of specialists and registered options traders (``ROTs'') 
in connection with options on Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts 
(``SPDRs''). The fee would be imposed at the rate of $1.00 per 
contract, instead of the rate of $0.40 per contract. The text of the 
proposed rule change is available on the Amex's Web site (http://www.amex.com), at the Amex's Office of the Secretary, 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 Exchange included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for its proposal and discussed any 
comments it had received regarding the proposal. The text of these 
statements may be examined at the places specified

[[Page 28588]]

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.

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

1. Purpose
    In June 2003, the Exchange reinstated its options marketing fee of 
$0.40 per contract on the transactions of specialists and ROTs in 
equity options.\5\ Currently, the options marketing fee is eligible to 
be assessed on all equity options transactions (including options on 
exchange-traded funds and trust issued receipts). The Exchange proposes 
to amend the options marketing fee in connection with options on SPDRs 
to increase the fee from the current level of $0.40 to $1.00 per 
contract. All other equity options would continue to remain subject to 
the current options marketing fee level of $0.40 per contract.
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    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 48053 (June 17, 
2003), 68 FR 37880 (June 25, 2003) (SR-Amex-2003-50).
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    The options marketing fee is assessed on only those specialist and 
ROT transactions involving customer orders from firms that accept 
payment for directing their orders to the Exchange (``payment accepting 
firms'') with whom a specialist has negotiated a payment for order flow 
arrangement. In addition, the options marketing fee is currently 
assessed only on transactions of specialists and ROTs with orders from 
customers of payment accepting firms that are for 200 contracts or 
less. The Exchange proposes to eliminate the restriction limiting the 
assessment of the marketing fee for options transactions of 200 
contracts or less. Thus, the fee would be eligible to be assessed on 
all transactions in equity options regardless of the contract size.
    The Exchange believes that the $1.00 per contract options marketing 
fee for SPDR options is an equitable allocation of a reasonable fee 
among members and is designed to enable the Exchange to compete with 
other markets in attracting SPDR options order flow.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act \6\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of Section 6(b)(4) of the Act \7\ in particular, in that it 
is designed to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 
fees, and other charges among exchange members and other persons using 
exchange facilities.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \7\ 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 that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others

    The Amex neither solicited nor received written comments 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 \8\ and subparagraph 
(f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 thereunder.\9\ Accordingly, the proposal will take 
effect upon filing with the Commission. 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 purposes of 
the Act.
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \9\ 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. 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 e-mail to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-Amex-2005-050 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Jonathan G. Katz, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20549-0609.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-Amex-2005-050. This 
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail 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 Web site (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 inspection 
and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room. Copies of the 
filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the 
principal office of the Amex. All comments received will be posted 
without change; the Commission does not edit personal identifying 
information from submissions. You should submit only information that 
you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to 
File Number SR-Amex-2005-050 and should be submitted on or before June 
8, 2005.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\10\
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    \10\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-2481 Filed 5-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P