[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14757-14758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4184]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-53491; File No. SR-ISE-2006-13]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, 
Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule 
Change Relating to Fee Changes

March 16, 2006.
    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 March 13, 2006, 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 ISE. ISE has 
designated the proposed rule change as one establishing or changing a 
due, fee, or other charge, pursuant to 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

    ISE is proposing to amend its Schedule of Fees to establish fees 
for transactions in options on 3 Premium Products.\5\ The text of the 
proposed rule change is available on ISE's Web site at http://www.iseoptions.com, at the Office of the Secretary at ISE, and at the 
Commission's Public Reference Room.
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    \5\ ``Premium Products'' are defined in the Schedule of Fees as 
the products enumerated therein.
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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 proposal. The text of these 
statements may be examined at the places specified 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
    The Exchange is proposing to amend its Schedule of Fees to 
establish fees for transactions in options on the following 3 Premium 
Products: Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Depository Receipts 
(``MDY''),\6\ iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund (``EWC''),\7\ and iShares 
MSCI EAFE Index Fund (``EFA'').\8\ Specifically, the Exchange is 
proposing to adopt an execution fee and a comparison fee for all 
transactions in options on MDY, EWC and EFA.\9\ The amount of the 
execution fee and comparison fee for products covered by this filing 
would be $0.15 and $0.03 per contract, respectively, for all Public

[[Page 14758]]

Customer Orders \10\ and Firm Proprietary orders. The amount of the 
execution fee and comparison fee for all Market Maker transactions 
would be equal to the execution fee and comparison fee currently 
charged by the Exchange for Market Maker transactions in equity 
options.\11\ The Exchange believes the proposed rule change will 
further the Exchange's goal of introducing new products to the 
marketplace that are competitively priced.
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    \6\ ``Standard & Poor's[reg],'' ``S&P[reg],'' ``S&P 400[reg],'' 
``Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts[reg],'' ``SPDR[reg],'' 
``Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Depositary Receipts\TM\,'' and 
``MidCap SPDRs\TM\,'' are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, 
Inc. (``McGraw-Hill'') and have been licensed for use by PDR 
Services LLC and the American Stock Exchange LLC (``Amex'') in 
connection with the listing and trading of MidCap SPDRs (``MDY'') on 
the Amex. MDY is not sponsored, sold, or endorsed by Standard & 
Poor's, (``S&P''), a division of McGraw-Hill, and S&P makes no 
representation regarding the advisability of investing in MDY. 
McGraw-Hill and S&P have not licensed or authorized ISE to (i) 
engage in the creation, listing, provision of a market for trading, 
marketing, and promotion of options on MDY or (ii) to use and refer 
to any of their trademarks or service marks in connection with the 
listing, provision of a market for trading, marketing, and promotion 
of options on MDY or with making disclosures concerning options on 
MDY under any applicable federal or state laws, rules, or 
regulations. McGraw-Hill and S&P do not sponsor, endorse, or promote 
such activity by ISE and are not affiliated in any manner with ISE.
    \7\ iShares[reg] is a registered trademark of Barclays Global 
Investors, N.A. (``BGI''), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays 
Bank PLC. ``MSCI Canada Index'' and ``MSCI EAFE Index'' are service 
marks of Morgan Stanley Capital International (``MSCI'') and have 
been licensed for use for certain purposes by BGI. All other 
trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective 
owners. Neither MSCI Canada Index Fund (``EWC'') nor MSCI EAFE Index 
Fund (``EFA'') are sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by 
MSCI. BGI and MSCI have not licensed or authorized ISE to (i) engage 
in the creation, listing, provision of a market for trading, 
marketing, and promotion of options on EWC and EFA or (ii) to use 
and refer to any of their trademarks or service marks in connection 
with the listing, provision of a market for trading, marketing, and 
promotion of options on EWC and EFA or with making disclosures 
concerning options on EWC and EFA under any applicable federal or 
state laws, rules or regulations. BGI and MSCI do not sponsor, 
endorse, or promote such activity by ISE, and are not affiliated in 
any manner with ISE.
    \8\ See id.
    \9\ These fees will be charged to Exchange members. Under a 
pilot program that is set to expire on July 31, 2006, these fees 
will also be charged to Linkage Orders (as defined in ISE Rule 
1900).
    \10\ Public Customer Order is defined in Exchange Rule 
100(a)(33) as an order for the account of a Public Customer. Public 
Customer is defined in Exchange Rule 100(a)(32) as a person that is 
not a broker or dealer in securities.
    \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 side.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the statutory basis for the proposal is 
the requirement under Section 6(b)(4) of the Act \12\ 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

    ISE believes that the proposed rule change 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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \13\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder \14\ 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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    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \14\ 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-ISE-2006-13 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ISE-2006-13. 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 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-2006-13 and should be submitted on or before April 13, 2006.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\15\
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    \15\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-4184 Filed 3-22-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P