[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 151 (Friday, August 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47626-47627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19853]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-64997; File No. SR-NYSE-2011-37]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change 
Amending the Fees Charged for the Floor Member Continuing Education 
Program for Qualified Floor Members Pursuant to NYSE Rule 103A, From a 
Fixed Flat Fee of $80 Per Training Module to a Fixed Flat Fee of $150 
Per Qualified Member Per Bi-Annual Session for a Total Cost Per Member 
Per Year of $300

August 1, 2011.
    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 July 21, 2011, New York Stock Exchange LLC (the ``Exchange'' 
or ``NYSE'') 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 Exchange. 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.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend, effective immediately, the fees 
charged for the Floor Member Continuing Education Program for qualified 
Floor members pursuant to NYSE Rule 103A, from a fixed flat fee of $80 
per training module to a fixed flat fee of $150 per qualified member 
per bi-annual session for a total cost per member per year of $300. The 
text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange, at 
http://www.nyse.com, at the Commission's Public Reference Room, and at 
the Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

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
    As required by NYSE Rule 103A, the Exchange provides Floor members 
with mandatory continuing education program, known as the Floor Member 
Continuing Education Program (``FMCE Program''). Since June 14, 2010, 
the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (``FINRA'') has been 
developing and administering the FMCE Program on the Exchange's behalf 
pursuant to a regulatory services agreement.
    The Exchange proposes to amend, effective immediately, the fees 
charged for the FMCE Program. Currently, members pay a fee of $80 per 
training module. Because the number of modules that the Exchange 
administers per year can vary (ranging from four to six modules per 
year), Floor members are currently faced with a level of uncertainty of 
the amount of fees that they may be charged in connection with the FMCE 
program. In addition, because modules can be issued throughout the 
year, Floor members face additional uncertainty as to when such fees 
will be charged.
    To eliminate this uncertainty, the Exchange proposes to delete the 
per module fee and instead charge a flat $150 fee per session per 
member per year, with two sessions a year amounting to a total of $300 
total charges per year for the FMCE Program. Consistent with Rule 103A 
and current practice, each session will include two to three modules of 
education programming, for a total of four to six modules per year. 
Accordingly, this proposed fee change will not impact the quantity or 
quality of educational training that will be issued to Floor members. 
Rather, the same level of

[[Page 47627]]

training will be provided via the same delivery method, except with 
more certainty both as to when the FMCE Program will be delivered and 
the total cost.
    In the past, the Exchange has sought to assess the FMCE Program fee 
to recoup development and delivery costs, crediting revenues exceeding 
a year's actual development and delivery costs to the succeeding year's 
budgeted costs. Now that FINRA develops and administers the FMCE 
Program on the Exchange's behalf, the FINRA costs are subsumed in the 
larger fee paid to FINRA for the provision of regulatory services. The 
Exchange continues to incur costs related to configuration, maintenance 
and hosting associated with FMCE delivery and billing. In balancing the 
costs to the Exchange, the Exchange also weighs the increasing burden 
on Floor members to absorb those costs. At the time the fee was last 
assessed in 2009, the number of qualified members subject to the FMCE 
Program requirement was 524. That number is now 467. In view of these 
declining membership numbers, the Exchange believes that the full costs 
associated with the FMCE Program should not be shifted to the Floor 
members. The Exchange believes that the proposed $300 annual fee 
strikes the appropriate balance between recouping certain costs 
associated with the FMCE Program from Floor members, without burdening 
a shrinking population with the full costs.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with the provisions of Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the ``Act''),\3\ in general, and Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\4\ in 
particular, in that it is designed to provide for the equitable 
allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its 
members and other persons using its facilities.
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    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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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

    The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to 
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \5\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-
4 \6\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge 
imposed by the NYSE.
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \6\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule 
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend 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-NYSE-2011-37 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-2011-37. 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 Web site viewing and 
printing 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 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-2011-37 and should be 
submitted on or before August 26, 2011.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\7\
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    \7\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-19853 Filed 8-4-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P