[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46283-46285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21635]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-60592; File No. SR-BX-2009-050]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Modify 
Fees for Members Using the NASDAQ OMX BX Equities System

August 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 August 17, 2009, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (``BX'') 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. The Commission is publishing this notice 
to solicit comments on the proposed rule from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 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

    BX is filing a proposed rule change to modify pricing for BX 
members using the NASDAQ OMX BX Equities System. BX will implement the 
proposed rule change on September 1, 2009. The text of the proposed 
rule change is attached as Exhibit 5 and is available at http://nasdaqomxbx.cchwallstreet.com.\3\
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    \3\ The Commission notes that Exhibit 5 is attached to the rule 
filing filed with the Commission but not to this release. The text 
of the proposed rule change is available at BX, on its Web site 
(http://nasdaqomxbx.cchwallstreet.com), and at the Commission's 
Public Reference Room.

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[[Page 46284]]

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

    In its filing with the Commission, BX 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. BX 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
    BX is proposing to modify its fees to execute transactions on the 
NASDAQ OMX BX Equities System.\4\ For securities listed on The NASDAQ 
Stock Market (``NASDAQ'') or the New York Stock Exchange (``NYSE''), BX 
currently provides a credit of $0.0006 per share executed to members 
accessing liquidity, with no charge or credit to members providing 
liquidity. Under the modified fee schedule, BX will lower the credit 
for accessing liquidity to $0.0001 per share executed and assess a 
charge of $0.0003 per share executed to members providing liquidity. 
Although the change will result in a small fee increase, the fee change 
is designed to continue BX's strategy of becoming a preferred routing 
destination for firms seeking to access liquidity at extremely low cost 
and a preferred market for firms that wish to post liquidity in a venue 
to which growing numbers of firms route. The change also reverses an 
``inverted'' fee structure in which rebates associated with the 
execution of an order exceeded charges.
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    \4\ The changes all relate to transactions that execute at 
prices of $1 or more. For transactions at prices below $1, there is 
a charge of 0.1% of total transaction cost to remove liquidity and 
no charge or rebate to provide liquidity.
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    For securities other than those listed on NASDAQ and NYSE, BX 
currently charges a fee of $0.0014 per share executed to access 
liquidity and provides a credit of $0.002 per share executed for 
providing liquidity. Under the modified fee schedule, BX will raise the 
fee to access liquidity to $0.0016 and lower the liquidity provider 
credit to $0.0014. Although the change will result in a small fee 
increase, the level of fees is consistent with BX's goal of offering 
liquidity at extremely low cost to investors, and also reverses an 
inverted fee structure.
2. Statutory Basis
    BX believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the 
provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\5\ in general, and with Section 
6(b)(4) of the Act,\6\ in particular, in that it provides for the 
equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among 
members and issuers and other persons using any facility or system 
which BX operates or controls. The proposed fee change applies 
uniformly to all BX members. The impact of the changes upon the net 
fees paid by a particular market participant will depend upon the types 
of stocks that it trades, the order types that it uses, and the prices 
of its quotes and orders (i.e., its propensity to add or remove 
liquidity). BX notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in 
which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing 
venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive. 
The proposed changes will continue BX's goal of allowing members to 
access available liquidity at extremely low cost.
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    BX does not believe that the proposed rule change will result in 
any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act, as amended.

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

    Written comments were neither solicited nor 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 \7\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder.\8\ 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.
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    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(a)(ii).
    \8\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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-BX-2009-050 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-BX-2009-050. 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 such 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 publicly available. All 
submissions should refer to File Number SR-BX-2009-050 and should be 
submitted on or before September 29, 2009.
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    \9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).


[[Page 46285]]


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    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-21635 Filed 9-4-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P