[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 25, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54488-54489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18823]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-56459; File No. SR-Amex-2007-24]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; American Stock Exchange LLC; Order 
Granting Approval to a Proposed Rule Change and Amendment No. 1 Thereto 
To Retroactively Amend Transaction Charges for Equities, ETFs, and 
Nasdaq UTP Securities

September 18, 2007.

I. Introduction

    On February 22, 2007, the American Stock Exchange LLC (``Amex'' or 
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission''), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ a 
proposed rule change to retroactively apply a revised fee schedule to 
transactions in equities, exchange-traded funds (``ETFs''), and Nasdaq 
UTP securities from January 2, 2007 through February 21, 2007. On 
August 10, 2007, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed 
rule change. The proposed rule change, as amended, was published for 
comment in the Federal Register on August 17, 2007.\3\ The Commission 
received no comments on the proposal. This order approves the proposed 
rule change.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 56238 (August 10, 
2006), 72 FR 46253.

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[[Page 54489]]

II. Description of the Proposal

    Effective January 2, 2007, the Exchange adopted new transaction 
charges for its members and member organizations largely relating to 
the Exchange's new hybrid market trading platform (known as AEMI), the 
upcoming implementation of Regulation NMS, and changes in the 
competitive landscape for equities, ETFs, and Nasdaq UTP securities 
(this fee schedule referred to herein as the ``January Fee 
Schedule'').\4\ The Exchange has represented that it had difficulty 
obtaining the data necessary to calculate an accurate bill pursuant to 
the January Fee Schedule and providing that data to its clearing firms 
in a timely manner so the firms could accurately pass those charges on 
to their customers. For this reason, the Exchange submitted a filing on 
February 22, 2007, in conjunction with this filing, to eliminate the 
January Fee Schedule and revert to the schedule for transaction charges 
in equities, ETFs, and Nasdaq UTP securities in effect prior to January 
2, 2007 (referred to herein as the ``February Fee Schedule'').\5\ The 
February Fee Schedule also included a five percent discount for 
customer orders.\6\ The proposed rule change would make the February 
Fee Schedule effective retroactively for the period of January 2, 2007 
through February 21, 2007.
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    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55195 (January 30, 
2007) 72 FR 5469 (February 6, 2007) (SR-Amex-2006-117).
    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55458 (March 13, 
2007), 72 FR 13320 (March 21, 2007) (SR-Amex-2007-23).
    \6\ ``Customers'' are defined forpurposes of the fee schedule to 
include all market participants except specialists and registered 
traders. Therefore, customer accounts include members' off-floor 
proprietary accounts and the accounts of competing market makers and 
other member and non-member broker-dealers.
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III. Discussion

    The Commission finds that the proposed rule change, as amended, is 
consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and 
regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange.\7\ 
In particular, the Commission believes that the proposal is consistent 
with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act \8\ in that it provides for the 
equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among 
its members. The Exchange has represented that a small number (less 
than ten) of its clearing members may owe a small amount more in fees 
based on the February Fee Schedule than they would have owed under the 
January Fee Schedule, and that the Exchange will credit their accounts 
in the amount of the additional sum owed. Thus, the retroactive 
application of the February Fee Schedule will not result in an increase 
in the transaction fees owed on these past transactions.\9\ Therefore, 
the Commission believes the fee change to be equitable and thus 
consistent with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act.\10\
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    \7\ In approving this proposed rule change, theCommission notes 
that it has considered the proposed rule's impact on efficiency, 
competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
    \9\ Transaction fees are generally an importantfactor that a 
market participant considers when routing its orders. If a market 
participant had known that a higher transaction fee would apply, it 
might have made different decisions about where to route.
    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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IV. Conclusion

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the 
Act,\11\ that the proposed rule change (File No. SR-Amex-2007-24), as 
modified by Amendment No. 1, is approved.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
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    \12\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-18823 Filed 9-24-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P