[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 64 (Monday, April 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15569-15571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7605]


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

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-59658; File No. SR-NYSEAmex-2009-01]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Amex LLC; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by 
Amendment No. 1, Amending Its Schedule of Fees and Charges for Exchange 
Services

March 31, 2009.
    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 19, 2009 NYSE Amex LLC (``NYSE Amex'' or the ``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 March 26, 2009, the 
Exchange filed 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange revised the purpose section 
and Exhibit 1 to the proposed rule change and clarified that the 
title of its Fee Schedule reflects the Exchange's recent name 
change. See infra at n.4.

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

[[Page 15570]]

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend its Schedule of Fees and Charges for 
Exchange Services. The text of the proposed rule change is available on 
the Exchange's Web site at http://www.nyse.com, at the Exchange's 
principal office 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, 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 Exchange proposes adding a Cancellation Fee of $1.50 to its Fee 
Schedule. The proposed Cancellation Fee will be charged to an executing 
clearing member for each public customer order (origin code ``C'') 
cancelled in excess of 500 public customer orders per month. The 
Cancellation Fee will only be assessed on cancelled orders in excess of 
the number of public customer orders that the clearing member executes 
in a month on behalf of itself or a correspondent firm.
    The Exchange also proposes to aggregate and count as one execution 
all public customer options orders from the same correspondent firm 
executed in the same series on the same side of the market at the same 
price within a 300 second period. Recognizing that order cancels and 
trades often happen in large numbers, the purpose of this fee is to 
focus on activity that is truly excessive and uses bandwidth and system 
capacity while fairly allocating costs among members.
    Additionally, this fee will not apply to cancelled public customer 
orders that improve the Exchange's prevailing best bid-offer (``BBO'') 
market at the time the orders are received. Orders that match the 
prevailing BBO market at the time the order is received and are 
subsequently cancelled will be included in the Cancellation Fee 
calculation. This provision seeks to remove any disincentives for firms 
to enter at risk orders that improve the BBO.
    Excessive order cancelling has the residual effect of exhausting 
system resources, bandwidth, and capacity. To effectively allocate the 
costs associated with order cancellation activity, the Exchange 
believes the fee should be calculated based on cancels at the 
correspondent firm level. While the clearing firm will ultimately be 
responsible for payment of the fee, the Exchange proposes to calculate 
the fee for cancelations [sic] in excess of the threshold that occur at 
the correspondent firm level. If the clearing firm does not have any 
correspondent firms associated with it, the fee will be assessed based 
on the clearing firm's order cancellation activity. This practice will 
fairly allocate the fee to the party responsible for order 
cancellations.
    The Exchange proposes to waive the Cancellation Fee until June 1, 
2009.
    The Exchange also proposes clarifying language to the Specialist/e-
Specialist/DOMM Rights Fee. The Specialist/e-Specialist/DOMM Rights Fee 
is based on the average number of national daily customer contracts 
traded in a given issue over a three month period. The Exchange 
calculates the number of average national daily customer contracts on a 
rolling three month basis with a one month lag. For example, the 
monthly base rate for Specialists, e-Specialists, and DOMMs trading in 
a given symbol in May will be based on the national average daily 
customer volume in that issue in January, February, and March. The 
rational [sic] for a one month lag is to give Specialists, e-
Specialists, and DOMMs seeking to register in a given symbol a clear 
understanding of the monthly base rate at the time of registration. The 
monthly base rate is then divided and charged to all of the 
Specialists, e-Specialists and DOMMs registered in that issue based on 
their prorated share of volume on the Exchange in that issue during the 
month. The proposed language seeks to clarify the concepts discussed 
above.
    The Exchange also seeks to reflect the name change from NYSE 
Alternext US LLC to NYSE Amex LLC in the Fee Schedule.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See SR-NYSEALTR-2009-24 Proposal to change the name of the 
Exchange to NYSE Amex LLC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with Section 
6(b) of the Act, in general, and Section 6(b)(4), in particular, in 
that it provides for the equitable allocation of dues, fees and other 
charges among its members and other market participants that use the 
trading facilities of NYSE Amex Options. Under this proposal, all 
similarly situated members and other Exchange participants of NYSE Amex 
Options will be charged the same reasonable dues, fees and other 
charges.

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

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition 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 either solicited or received.

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\5\ and paragraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4\6\ 
thereunder. 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.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \6\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
    \7\ For purposes of calculating the 60-day abrogation period, 
the Commission considers the proposed rule change to have been filed 
on March 26, 2009, the date the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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-NYSEAmex-2009-01 on the subject line.

[[Page 15571]]

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEAmex-2009-01. 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, 100 F Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours 
of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing will also be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the self-regulatory 
organization. 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-
NYSEAmex-2009-01 and should be submitted on or before April 27, 2009.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E9-7605 Filed 4-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P