[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 96 (Friday, May 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28089-28090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-9570]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-55756; File No. SR-Amex-2007-42]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; American Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change as Modified by Amendment No. 1 
Amending the Required Number of Letters of Reference an Applicant Must 
Provide

May 14, 2007.
    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 26, 2007, 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 substantially prepared by Amex. On 
May 3, 2007, Amex submitted Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 
change.\3\ 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\ In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange clarified that pursuant to 
Article IV, Section 1(d) of the Amex Constitution, applicants for 
associate membership are also currently required to provide five 
letters of reference.
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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 Amex Rule 353 to require member 
applicants to provide two, instead of five, letters of reference. The 
text of the proposed rule change is available at the Amex's Office of 
the Secretary, at the Commission's Public Reference Room, and on the 
Amex's Web site at http://www.amex.com.

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

    In its filing with the Commission, Amex 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. Amex 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
    Amex Rule 353 currently requires a member applicant to provide five 
letters of reference from any person seeking status as a regular, 
options principal member or LTP holder.\4\ The Exchange proposes to 
amend Rule 353 to require member applicants to provide two, as opposed 
to five, letters of reference from responsible persons.\5\ Requiring 
five letters of reference has proven burdensome and time-consuming for 
member applicants and often delays the application process. 
Furthermore, the content of such references is of little consequence in 
an applicant's ultimate approval. Finally, with the availability of 
more objective background information provided through other resources, 
such as WEBCRD, FBI fingerprints, and credit reports, Amex believes 
that the need for these letters of reference has largely been 
diminished.
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    \4\ Article IV, Section 1(d) of the Amex Constitution provides 
that applications for associate membership shall be in a form and 
manner prescribed by the Exchange. The Exchange also currently 
requires associate member applicants to provide five letters of 
reference, as is set forth in Rule 353.
    \5\ The Exchange stated that it intends to reduce the 
requirement for associate membership applicants from five to two 
letters of reference to correspond with the proposed change 
effecting regular, options principal members or LTP holders. 
Telephone conversation among Nyieri Nazarian, Associate General 
Counsel, Amex; Jennifer Colihan, Special Counsel, Commission, 
Division of Market Regulation (``Division''); and Kristie Diemer, 
Special Counsel, Commission, Division on May 2, 2007.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6 of the Act \6\ in general and furthers the objectives of 
Section 6(b)(5) \7\ in particular in that it is designed to prevent 
fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and 
equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination 
with persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, and to 
remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open 
market and a national market system.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    This 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 with respect to the 
proposed rule change.

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 Amex consents, the Commission will:
    (A) by order approve such 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 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-2007-42 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-Amex-2007-42. This file

[[Page 28090]]

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 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-2007-42 and should be submitted on or before June 
8, 2007.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
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    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-9570 Filed 5-17-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P