[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 160 (Friday, August 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48789-48790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-4536]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-52250; File No. SR-ISE-2005-34]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, 
Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule 
Change and Amendments Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Thereto Relating to Fee Changes

August 12, 2005.
    Pursuant to section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given 
that on July 12, 2005, the International Securities Exchange, Inc. 
(``ISE'' 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 ISE. 
On July 29, 2005, ISE filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 
change.\3\ On August 10, 2005, ISE filed Amendment No. 2 to the 
proposed rule change.\4\ On August 11, 2005, ISE filed Amendment No. 3 
to the proposed rule change.\5\ The ISE has designated this proposal as 
one establishing or changing a due, fee, or other charge imposed by the 
ISE under section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,\6\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) 
thereunder,\7\ which renders the proposal effective upon filing with 
the Commission. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit 
comments on the proposed rule change, as amended, from interested 
persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ Amendment No. 1 made technical changes to the text of the 
filing, including Exhibit 5 (ISE's Schedule of Fees), to correct the 
name of one of the narrow-based indexes, the ISE Integrated Oil & 
Gas Index, and to add asterisks after the Comparison Fee section in 
the Schedule of Fees to indicate omitted text.
    \4\ Amendment No. 2 made a clarifying change to the text of the 
filing to indicate that options on the ISE Integrated Oil & Gas 
Index are not currently listed for trading on the Exchange but that 
the Exchange expects to list those options in the near future. ISE 
also made a technical change to correctly renumber all pages of 
Exhibit 4 and to clarify the language in Item II.
    \5\ Amendment No. 3 deletes ISE Integrated Oil & Gas Index from 
the Schedule of Fees in Exhibit 5, as well as all references to that 
Index in the text of the filing. Due to technical reasons, the 
Exchange is not currently able to list options on the ISE Integrated 
Oil & Gas Index. The correction to Exhibit 5 does not affect the 
fees for transactions in options on the three narrow-based indexes 
and the three broad-based indexes that are the subject of this 
filing.
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \7\ 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 ISE is proposing to amend its Schedule of Fees to establish 
fees for transactions in options on three narrow-based indexes and 
three broad-based indexes. The three narrow-based indexes are the ISE 
U.S. Regional Banks Index, the ISE SINdex, and the ISE Bio-
Pharmaceuticals Index. The three broad-based indexes are the ISE 250 
Index, the ISE 100 Index, and the ISE 50 Index. The text of the 
proposed rule change, as amended, is available on the ISE's Web site 
(http://www.iseoptions.com/legal/ proposed--rule--changes.asp), at the 
principal office of the ISE, 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 ISE 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 ISE 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 Exchange is proposing to amend its Schedule of Fees to 
establish fees for transactions in options on three narrow-based 
indexes and three broad-based indexes. The narrow-based indexes are the 
ISE U.S. Regional Banks Index (``JLO''), the ISE SINdex (``SIN''), and 
the ISE Bio-Pharmaceuticals Index (``RND'').\8\ The three broad-based 
indexes are the ISE 250 Index (``IXZ''), the ISE 100 Index (``IXX''), 
and the ISE 50 Index (``IXK'').\9\ Specifically, the

[[Page 48790]]

Exchange is proposing to adopt an execution fee and a comparison fee 
for all transactions in options on JLO, SIN, RND, IXZ, IXX, and 
IXK.\10\ The amount of the execution fee and comparison fee for 
products covered by this filing shall be the same for all order types 
on the Exchange--that is, orders for Public Customers, Market Makers, 
and Firm Proprietary--and shall be equal to the execution fee and 
comparison fee currently charged by the Exchange for Market Maker and 
Firm Proprietary transactions in equity options.\11\ Further, since 
options on JLO, SIN, RND, IXZ, IXX, and IXK are not multiply-listed, 
the Payment for Order Flow fee shall not apply. The Exchange believes 
that the proposed rule change, as amended, will further the Exchange's 
goal of introducing new products to the marketplace that are 
competitively priced.
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    \8\ The Exchange represents that the following three narrow-
based indexes, the ISE U.S. Regional Banks Index, the ISE SINdex, 
and the ISE Bio-Pharmaceuticals Index, meet the standards of ISE 
Rule 2002(b), which allows the ISE to begin trading these products 
by filing Form 19b-4(e) at least five business days after 
commencement of trading these new products pursuant to Rule 19b-4(e) 
of the Act. The Commission notes that the ISE filed Form 19b-4(e) 
for these narrow-based indexes with the Commission on June 19, 2005.
    \9\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51913 (June 23, 
2005), 70 FR 38220 (July 1, 2005) (SR-ISE-2004-28) (order approving 
the trading of options on the ISE 250 Index, the ISE 100 Index, and 
the ISE 50 Index).
    \10\ The Exchange represents that these fees will be charged 
only to Exchange members.
    \11\ The execution fee is currently between $.21 and $.12 per 
contract side, depending on the Exchange Average Daily Volume, and 
the comparison fee is currently $.03 per contract per side.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change, as amended, is 
consistent with section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\12\ which requires that an 
exchange have an equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 
other charges among its members and other persons using its facilities.
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    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change, as amended, 
does not 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 Exchange has not solicited, and does not intend to solicit, 
comments on this proposed rule change. The Exchange has not received 
any unsolicited written comments from members or other interested 
parties.

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

    Because the foregoing rule change, as amended, establishes or 
changes a due, fee, or other charge imposed by the Exchange, it has 
become effective pursuant to section 19(b)(3) of the Act \13\ and Rule 
19b-4(f)(2) \14\ thereunder. At any time within 60 days of the filing 
of such amended 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.\15\
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    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \14\ 17 CFR 19b-4(f)(2).
    \15\ The effective date of the original proposed rule is July 
12, 2005. The effective date of Amendment No. 1 is July 29, 2005. 
The effective date of Amendment No. 2 is August 10, 2005. The 
effective date of Amendment No. 3 is August 11, 2005. For purposes 
of calculating the 60-day period within which the Commission may 
summarily abrogate the proposed rule change under Section 
19(b)(3)(C) of the Act, the Commission considers the period to 
commence on August 11, 2005, the date on which the ISE submitted 
Amendment No. 3. See 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(C).
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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, as amended, 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 No. SR-ISE-2005-34 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Jonathan G. Katz, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, Station Place, 100 F 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549-9303.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ISE-2005-34. 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 such 
filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the 
principal office of the ISE. 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-ISE-2005-34 and should be submitted on or before 
September 9, 2005.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\16\
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    \16\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Jonathan G. Katz,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-4536 Filed 8-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P