[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42134-42135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3901]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-52034; File No. SR-OCC-2005-08]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 
Relating to Reducing Clearing Fees for Securities Option Contracts

July 14, 2005.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''), \1\ notice is hereby given that on June 14, 2005, The 
Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC'') 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 
primarily by OCC. 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

    Effective July 1, 2005, OCC will further reduce its discounted fee 
schedule for securities option contracts until further action by the 
Board of Directors.

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

    In its filing with the Commission, OCC 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. OCC has prepared summaries, set forth in sections (A), 
(B), and (C) below, of the most significant aspects of such 
statements.\2\
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    \2\ The Commission has modified parts of these statements.
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(A) Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    The primary purpose of this rule change is to further reduce OCC's 
currently discounted clearing fees for securities option contracts 
until the Board of Directors determines otherwise.\3\ Effective July 1, 
2005, OCC's clearing fees for securities options will be:
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    \3\ In addition, OCC is deleting charges for 56.0kb lines as 
they are no longer a supported communications protocol. Other 
changes made to the Schedule of Fees are of a technical or 
conforming nature.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Discounted fee effective July 1,
            Contracts/trade                           2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-500.................................  $0.05/contract.
501-1,000.............................  $0.04/contract.
1,001-2,000...........................  $0.03/contract.
>2,000................................  $55.00 (capped).
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    The additional fee reduction recognizes the continued strong volume 
in securities options in 2005. OCC believes that this fee reduction 
will financially benefit clearing members and other market participants 
without adversely affecting OCC's ability to meet its expenses and 
maintain an acceptable level of retained earnings.
    The discounted fees for new securities option products will be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Contracts/   Discounted fee effective
             Month                  trade            July 1, 2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..............................          N/A  No Fee.
2..............................      1-4,400  $0.01
                                      >4,400  $40.00
3..............................      1-2,200  $0.02
                                      >2,200  $40.00
4..............................          N/A  Regular Schedule.
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    OCC believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with 
Section 17A of the Act because it benefits clearing members by reducing 
clearing fees and allocates such fees among clearing members in a fair 
and equitable manner. The proposed rule change is not inconsistent with 
the existing rules of OCC, including any other rules proposed to be 
amended.

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    OCC does not believe that the proposed rule change would impose any 
burden on competition.

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

    Written comments were not and are not intended to be solicited with 
respect to the proposed rule change, and none have been received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The foregoing proposed rule change has become effective pursuant to 
Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \4\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \5\ 
thereunder because it establishes or changes a due, fee, or other 
charge. 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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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78(s)(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. 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-OCC-2005-08 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Jonathan G. Katz, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-0609.

    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-OCC-2005-08. 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

[[Page 42135]]

available for inspection and copying in the Commission's Public 
Reference Section, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549. Copies of 
such filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the 
principal office of OCC and on OCC's Web site at http://www.optionsclearing.com.
    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-OCC-2005-08 
and should be submitted on or before August 11, 2005.

    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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J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-3901 Filed 7-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P