[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34407-34408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5373]


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

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-53948; File No. SR-ISE-2006-14]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, 
Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change and Amendment No. 1 
Thereto Relating to ISE Rule 720

June 6, 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 22, 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 the Exchange. On May 
18, 2006, the ISE submitted Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 
change.\3\ The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments 
on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-b.
    \3\ In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange amended proposed new 
supplementary Material .08 to ISE Rule 720 to state that unless all 
parties to a trade agree otherwise, ISE Market Control may nullify a 
trade if all parties to a trade fail to receive a trade execution 
report due to a verifiable system outage. Amendment No. 1 also 
clarified that the proposed rule change operates under the 
assumption that a trade has taken place, but due to a system outage, 
the parties to the trade never received a trade execution report and 
thus were unaware of the trade having taken place.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change
    The ISE proposes to amend ISE Rule 720 (``Obvious Error Rule''). 
The text of the proposed rule change is below. Proposed new language is 
in italics. Proposed delitions are in [brackets].

Rule 720. Obvious Errors

    The Exchange shall either bust a transaction or adjust the 
execution price of a transaction that results from an Obvious Error as 
provided in this Rule. In limited circumstances, the Exchange may 
nullify transactions, pursuant to Supplementary Material .08 below.
    (a)-(c) No change.
    (d) [(e)] Obvious Error Panel.
    (1)-(4) No change.

Supplementary Material to Rule 720

    .01-.07 No change.
     .08 Unless all parties to a trade agree otherwise, Market Control 
may nullify a trade if all parties to a trade fail to receive a trade 
execution report due to a verifiable system outage.
* * * * *

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 proposed rule change. 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 purpose of the proposed rule change is to amend ISE Rule 720 to 
expand its application. Specifically, ISE proposes to expand its 
Obvious Error Rule to provide the Exchange with the ability, in limited 
circumstances, to nullify a transaction when all parties to a trade do 
not receive a trade execution report \4\ due to a system outage. The

[[Page 34408]]

Exchange routinely sends out trade execution reports to all Members 
that are parties to a trade.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ A trade execution report is an ISE system message sent to 
all parties to a trade to inform them that a trade has been 
consummated. Among other things, a trade execution report contains 
pertinent details such as the underlying security, the price, number 
of contracts traded, the strike price and the expiration date.
    \5\ See Amendment No. 1, supra note 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ISE developed the Obvious Error Rule to address the need to 
handle errors in a fully electronic market where orders and quotes are 
executed automatically before an obvious error may be discovered and 
corrected by Members. The Exchange states that in formulating the 
Obvious Error Rule, it has weighed carefully the need to assure that 
one market participant is not permitted to receive a windfall at the 
expense of another market participant that made an obvious error, 
against the need to assure that market participants are not simply 
being given an opportunity to reconsider poor trading decisions. The 
Exchange believes that the proposed rule change would strengthen ISE's 
Obvious Error Rule because it would ensure that parties are not 
adversely affected by a trade whose terms were never fully communicated 
to them due to a system outage. The Exchange states that the proposed 
rule change reflects the Exchange's constant evaluation of the Obvious 
Error Rule and its fairness to all market participants. The Exchange 
also believes that the proposed rule change is necessary to assure that 
those transactions where a trade execution report is not sent to all 
the participants to a trade are eligible to be busted under the Obvious 
Error Rule.
    Finally, as a matter of ``housekeeping,'' the Exchange proposes a 
technical correction of the numbering within ISE Rule 720 to change 
what is now ISE Rule 720(e) to ISE Rule 720(d).
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes the proposal is consistent with section 6(b) 
of the Act, \6\ in general, and furthers the objectives of section 
6(b)(5) of the Act,\7\ in particular, in that it is designed to foster 
cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in regulating, 
clearing, settling, processing information with respect to, and 
facilitating transactions in securities, to remove impediments to and 
perfect the mechanism for a free and open market and a national market 
system, and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange believes 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

    No written comments were solicited or received by the Exchange on 
this proposal.

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

    Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding, or (ii) as to 
which the Exchange consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve the proposed rule change, or
    (B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 
change should be disapproved.

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 Number SR-ISE-2006-14 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-2006-14. 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 Exchange. 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-IE-2006-14 and should be submitted on or before July 5, 
2006.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 06-5373 Filed 6-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M