[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33794-33795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11718]



[[Page 33794]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-55899; File No. SR-ISE-2007-30]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, 
LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule 
Change Relating to Registration of Representatives and Options 
Principals and Related Fee Changes

June 12, 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 May 25, 2007, the International Securities Exchange, LLC (``ISE'' or 
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and 
II below, which Items have been substantially prepared by ISE. The 
Exchange filed the proposal as a ``non-controversial'' proposed rule 
change pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \3\ and Rule 
19b-4(f)(6) thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposal effective upon 
receipt of this filing by 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)(iii).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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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 rules governing Registration of 
Options Principals, Registration of Representatives, and Termination of 
Registered Persons to conform them to similar rules of other exchanges 
and to amend related fees to be consistent with those of other 
exchanges. The text of the rule proposal is available on the Exchange's 
Web site (http://www.iseoptions.com), at the Exchange, 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, 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. 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 ISE rules currently contain a requirement that members who do 
business with the public qualify and register their options principals 
and representatives. This requirement is the same as the NASD 
qualification and registration requirements \5\ and is uniform across 
exchanges. ISE Rules 601 (Registration of Options Principals), 602 
(Registration of Representatives), and 603 (Termination of Registered 
Persons) have remained unchanged since they were adopted in 2000 at the 
time the ISE was initially approved as a registered national securities 
exchange. At that time, the language of these rules was the same as 
that contained in the rules of the Chicago Board Options Exchange 
(``CBOE'') and the rules of other options exchanges. However, the CBOE 
and other options exchanges have since amended their rules to specify 
that registration and termination of registered persons must be 
accomplished by use of the Form U4 electronically filed with the NASD's 
``Web CRD'' system.\6\
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    \5\ See NASD Rules 1021 and 1031 (Registration Requirements).
    \6\ See, e.g., CBOE Rule 9.2 (Registration of Options 
Principals) and CBOE Rule 9.3 (Registration and Termination of 
Representatives).
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    Accordingly, the ISE seeks to update its rule language in Rules 
601, 602, and 603 to make it consistent with the other exchanges and to 
make it clear that ISE members have the same obligation to indicate ISE 
registrations and terminations on Form U4 as they do for other 
exchanges. The amended rules addressing registered representatives will 
apply to both our options members and our Equity EAMs \7\ that do 
business with the public. In this respect, the Exchange proposes to 
amend Appendix A to Chapter 21 (``ISE Stock Exchange, LLC Trading 
Rules'') to include ISE Rules 602 and 603.
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    \7\ Defined in Rule 2100(c)(6).
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    The Exchange also proposes to increase the initial registration, 
annual and transfer fees related to registered options principals and 
registered representatives, and to adopt a termination fee. All of the 
proposed fees are equal to those charged by other options exchanges.\8\ 
The Exchange is amending the following fees for registered 
representatives: (1) Increasing the initial registration and transfer 
fees from $25 to $55; (2) increasing the annual fee from $30 to $55; 
and (3) adding the termination fee of $30. These fees are automatically 
collected by the NASD and remitted to the ISE.
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    \8\ The proposed registration, annual, transfer and termination 
fees are the same as those charged by the CBOE and Philadelphia 
Stock Exchange. See the Schedule of Fees, available at: http://www.cboe.com and http://www.phlx.com, respectively.
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    Finally, the Exchange proposes to make non-substantive changes to 
reformat the way it has incorporated certain rules by reference in 
Chapter 21. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend Rule 2100 to 
remove reference to certain specific rules contained in other chapters 
of the ISE Rules that are applicable to ISE Equity EAMs and add 
reference to such rules to Appendix A to Chapter 21 and to make clean-
up changes to Rule 2100. Currently, some rules applicable to ISE Equity 
EAMs are listed in Rule 2100, while others are listed in Appendix A. 
The Exchange believes it will be easier for Equity EAMs to identify 
which ISE rules apply to them if the applicable rules are consolidated 
in Appendix A to Chapter 21.
2. Statutory Basis
    The basis under the Act for this proposed rule change is found in 
Section 6(b).\9\ Specifically, the Exchange believes the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the requirements of Section 6(b)(4) \10\ of 
the Act that an exchange have an equitable allocation of reasonable 
dues, fees and other charges among its members and other persons using 
its facilities, and of Section 6(b)(5) \11\ of the Act that the rules 
of an exchange be designed to promote just and equitable principles of 
trade, serve to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a 
free and open market and a national market system, and, in general, to 
protect investors and the public interest. In particular, the Exchange 
believes this proposed rule change will remove any confusion in the 
marketplace regarding the requirement to register options principals 
and representatives on Form U4 by adopting language that is uniform 
among the exchanges.
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    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    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.

[[Page 33795]]

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

    The Exchange has not solicited or received any comments on this 
proposed rule change.

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

    Because the foregoing proposed rule change does not: (i) 
Significantly affect the protection of investors or the public 
interest; (ii) impose any significant burden on competition; and (iii) 
become operative for 30 days from the date on which it was filed, or 
such shorter time as the Commission may designate, if consistent with 
the protection of investors and the public interest, it has become 
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \12\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6) thereunder.\13\
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    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \13\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) 
requires that a self-regulatory organization submit to the 
Commission written notice of its intent to file the proposed rule 
change, along with a brief description and text of the proposed rule 
change, at least five business days prior to the date of filing of 
the proposed rule change, or such shorter time as designated by the 
Commission. The Commission notes that ISE has satisfied the five-day 
pre-filing notice requirement.
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    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.

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-2007-30 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-2007-30. 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-2007-30 
and should be submitted on or before July 10, 2007.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\14\
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    \14\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-11718 Filed 6-18-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P