[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 135 (Thursday, July 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34609-34611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16857]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-60261; File No. SR-NYSE-2009-60]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule 
Change by New York Stock Exchange LLC in Connection With the Proposal 
of NYSE Euronext To Require That at Least Three-Fourths of Its 
Directors Satisfy Independence Requirements

July 8, 2009.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby 
given that, on June 23, 2009, New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' or 
the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, 
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-
regulatory organization. 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\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange is submitting this rule filing in connection with the 
proposal of its ultimate parent, NYSE Euronext (the 
``Corporation''),\4\ to amend its bylaws and Director Independence 
Policy to require that at least three-fourths of the members of its 
Board of Directors shall satisfy the independence requirements for 
directors of the Corporation. Currently the bylaws and Director 
Independence Policy require that all members of the Board of Directors, 
other than the Chief Executive Officer and the Deputy Chief Executive 
Officer, shall satisfy the independence requirements.\5\ The text of 
the proposed rule change is attached hereto as Exhibit 5 [sic], and is 
available on the Exchange's Web site at http://www.nyse.com, at the 
Exchange's principal office, and at the Public Reference Room of the 
Commission.
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    \4\ The NYSE, a New York limited liability company, is an 
indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of NYSE Euronext.
    \5\ See Section 3.4 of the ``Amended and Restated Bylaws of NYSE 
Euronext.'' The provisions of any other internal policy documents of 
the Corporation containing substantially equivalent language will be 
modified to conform with the proposed Bylaw and Director 
Independence Policy changes.

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[[Page 34610]]

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 self-regulatory organization 
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 those 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 parts of such statements.

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

1. Purpose
    Currently, the Bylaws of the Corporation, which is the ultimate 
parent company of the Exchange, require that ``all members of the Board 
of Directors, other than the Chief Executive Officer and the Deputy 
Chief Executive Officer, shall satisfy the independence requirements 
for directors of the Corporation, as modified and amended by the Board 
of Directors from time to time.'' Similarly, the Director Independence 
Policy of the Corporation states that ``[e]ach Director (other than the 
Chief Executive Officer and the Deputy Chief Executive Officer), 
including the Chairman of the Board and the Deputy Chairman of the 
Board if not also the Chief Executive Officer or the Deputy Chief 
Executive Officer, shall be independent within the meaning of this 
Policy.'' The Corporation desires to amend both documents to strike a 
more appropriate balance between the independence requirements and 
other qualifications of its directors. Specifically, the Corporation 
proposes to revise the independence standard in the Bylaws to provide 
that, ``At least three-fourths of the members of the Board of Directors 
shall satisfy the independence requirements for directors of the 
Corporation, as modified and amended by the Board of Directors from 
time to time.'' \6\ The three-fourths requirement will still adequately 
protect the independent judgment of the Board of Directors (``Board''), 
which the Corporation believes is essential to the quality of Board 
oversight, while permitting the Corporation to consider a broader range 
of experienced and knowledgeable individuals as directors.\7\ The 
current Bylaw provision eliminates from consideration as potential 
directors of the Corporation a substantial number of individuals who 
could contribute significantly to the deliberations of the 
Corporation's Board by virtue of their knowledge, ability and 
experience. For example, an executive of a U.S. company listed on NYSE 
could not serve as a member of the Board. Such a restriction deprives 
the Corporation of the proven judgment and valuable insights that such 
individuals might contribute to the Board's decision-making process. 
There are other categories of individuals who fail the independence 
requirements for other reasons, yet who nonetheless could make 
significant contributions as directors of the Corporation.
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    \6\ The corresponding revised language in the Director 
Independence Policy would state, ``At least three-fourths of the 
Directors shall be independent within the meaning of this Policy.''
    \7\ There are currently 18 directors on the Board, including the 
Chief Executive Officer and the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. The 
Bylaws currently require 16 of the directors (i.e., all but the two 
aforementioned employees) to be independent. The proposed amendment 
to the Bylaws would require a minimum of 14 of the directors to be 
independent.
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    The proposed three-fourths standard for independence remains higher 
than the majority standard that the Commission has accepted and 
approved in comparable circumstances. For example, the ``Corporate 
Governance Guidelines'' of the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., which is the 
parent company of the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, state, ``The Board of 
NASDAQ OMX is comprised of a majority of directors, who qualify as 
`independent directors' under the Marketplace Rules of The NASDAQ Stock 
Market and Securities and Exchange Commission requirements.'' \8\ The 
NYSE's own corporate governance standards for its listed companies 
provide that, ``Listed companies must have a majority of independent 
directors.'' \9\ Finally, the Commission's own 2004 release on ``Fair 
Administration and Governance of Self-Regulatory Organizations'' 
proposed ``that the board of each exchange and association be composed 
of a majority of independent directors.'' \10\ In the latter case, 
there would be no justification for holding the governing board of the 
ultimate parent of an exchange to a higher standard than the governing 
board of the exchange itself. Consequently, there is adequate precedent 
with respect to the proposed rule change.
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    \8\ See ``The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. Corporate Governance 
Guidelines,'' Section III.B. (Independence of Non-Employee 
Directors).
    \9\ See ``NYSE Listed Company Manual,'' Section 303A.01 
(Independent Directors).
    \10\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 50699 (November 18, 
2004), 69 FR 71126 (December 8, 2004), Section II.B.2 (Board 
Consisting of a Majority of Independent Directors).
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    The proposed amendment to the Bylaws and Director Independence 
Policy will not alter or amend the standards by which the Corporation 
makes a determination regarding whether an individual director is 
independent. In addition, the proposed amendment will not affect in any 
way the independence requirements of the Exchange with respect to its 
directors or the director independence requirements of any of the other 
self-regulatory organizations for which the Corporation is the ultimate 
parent or of NYSE Group, Inc., the intermediate holding company, 
including in each case the number of required independent 
directors.\11\ The proposed amendment will also not affect in any way 
the other director qualification requirements set out in the Bylaws of 
the Corporation.\12\
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    \11\ In its 2006 release approving the NYSE's business 
combination with Archipelago Holdings, Inc. (the ``Arca Approval 
Release''), the Commission noted that it ``* * * does not believe 
that there is only one method to satisfy the fair representation 
requirements of Section 6(b)(3) of the Act, and reviews each SRO 
proposal on its own terms to determine if it is consistent with the 
Act.'' See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53382 (February 27, 
2006), 71 FR 11251 (March 6, 2006) (File No. SR-NYSE-2005-77), 
11259, note 97. In this regard, the ``fair representation 
candidate'' on the NYSE board is required by the NYSE's operating 
agreement to be independent, and the Arca Approval Release notes 
that even a fully independent board could be consistent with the Act 
and the fair representation requirement, in which case ``the 
candidate or candidates selected by members would have to be 
independent.'' 71 FR at 11260. Among other things, the NYSE board 
oversees NYSE Regulation, Inc., a not-for-profit independent 
subsidiary that conducts the regulatory function of NYSE on its 
behalf pursuant to contractual and other arrangements. Consequently, 
the Commission stated its conclusion in the Arca Approval Release 
that ``[t]he NYSE's proposed requirement that 20% of the directors 
of the boards of directors of New York Stock Exchange LLC, NYSE 
Market, and NYSE Regulation be chosen by members and the means by 
which they will be chosen satisfies the fair representation of 
members in the selection of directors and the administration of the 
exchange consistent with the requirements in Section 6(b)(3) of the 
Act.'' 71 FR at 11259.
    \12\ E.g., Section 3.2 (Certain Qualifications for the Board of 
Directors) of the Bylaws.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) \13\ of 
the Act, in general, and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) 
\14\ 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, to remove 
impediments to and perfect the

[[Page 34611]]

mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system and, 
in general, to protect investors and the public interest. More 
specifically, the Exchange believes that, because the proposed rule 
change will permit the Corporation to consider a broader range of 
experienced and knowledgeable individuals to serve as directors of the 
Corporation while also preserving the principle that effective boards 
of directors exercise independent judgment in carrying out their 
responsibilities, it will thereby contribute to perfecting the 
mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system and is 
also consistent with the protection of investors and the public 
interest.
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    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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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 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 the self-regulatory organization 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 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-NYSE-2009-60 on the subject line.

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-NYSE-2009-60. 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 Section, 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 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-NYSE-2009-60 and should be 
submitted on or before August 6, 2009.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\15\
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    \15\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-16857 Filed 7-15-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P