[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77576-77578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31891]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-65907; File No. SR-BATS-2011-049]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Related to 
Fees for Use of BATS Exchange, Inc.

December 7, 2011.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(the ``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given 
that on November 30, 2011, BATS Exchange, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or 
``BATS'') 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 
Exchange has designated the proposed rule change as one establishing or 
changing a member due, fee, or other charge imposed by the Exchange 
under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \3\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) 
thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposed rule change effective upon 
filing with the Commission. 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.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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 the fee schedule applicable to 
Members \5\ and non-members of the Exchange pursuant to BATS Rules 
15.1(a) and (c). While changes to the fee schedule pursuant to this 
proposal will be effective upon filing, the changes will become 
operative on December 1, 2011.
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    \5\ A Member is any registered broker or dealer that has been 
admitted to membership in the Exchange.
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    The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange's 
Web site at http://www.batstrading.com, at the principal office of the 
Exchange, 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

[[Page 77577]]

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 parts 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 to modify the ``Options Pricing'' section of 
its fee schedule to change pricing with respect to orders routed to the 
C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated (``C2''). Effective November 1, 2011, 
C2 modified its transaction fees to assess fees on liquidity takers of 
either $0.44 or $0.45 per contract depending on the capacity associated 
with the order (e.g., public customer, professional, firm, or market 
maker).\6\ The Exchange currently charges certain flat rates for 
routing to other options exchanges that have been placed into three 
groups based on the approximate cost of routing to such venues. The 
grouping of away options exchanges is based on the cost of transaction 
fees assessed by each venue as well as costs to the Exchange for 
routing (i.e., clearing fees, infrastructure costs, etc.). The Exchange 
currently assesses fees of $0.30 per contract for Customer \7\ orders 
and $0.55 per contract for Professional,\8\ Firm or Market Maker \9\ 
orders routed to C2. In order to better approximate the cost to the 
Exchange of routing Customer orders to C2, the Exchange proposes to 
place C2 in the away options exchange grouping along with the Nasdaq 
Options Market (``NOM'') and NYSE Arca Options (``Arca'') in Make/Take 
issues.\10\ Accordingly, the Exchange proposes to charge a fee of $0.50 
per contract for Customer orders and to continue to charge $0.55 per 
contract for Professional, Firm, or Market Maker orders routed to and 
executed at C2.
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    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 65668 (November 2, 
2011), 76 FR 69313 (November 8, 2011) (SR-C2-2011-032).
    \7\ As defined on the Exchange's fee schedule, a Customer order 
refers to an order identified by a Member for clearing in the 
Customer range at the Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC''), 
excluding any transaction for a ``Professional'' as defined in 
Exchange Rule 16.1.
    \8\ The term ``Professional'' is defined in Exchange Rule 16.1 
to mean any person or entity that (A) is not a broker or dealer in 
securities, and (B) places more than 390 orders in listed options 
per day on average during a calendar month for its own beneficial 
account(s).
    \9\ As defined on the Exchange's fee schedule, the terms 
``Firm'' and ``Market Maker'' apply to any transaction identified by 
a member for clearing in the Firm or Market Maker range, 
respectively, at the OCC.
    \10\ As defined on the fee schedule, Make/Take pricing refers to 
executions at the identified exchange under which ``Post Liquidity'' 
or ``Maker'' rebates (``Make'') are credited by that exchange and 
``Take Liquidity'' or ``Taker'' fees (``Take'') are charged by that 
exchange.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations 
thereunder that are applicable to a national securities exchange, and, 
in particular, with the requirements of Section 6 of the Act.\11\ 
Specifically, the Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is 
consistent with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\12\ in that it provides for 
the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges 
among members and other persons using any facility or system which the 
Exchange operates or controls.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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    The Exchange believes that its proposed routing rates are, on 
average, better than or equal to the fees a market participant would 
pay if routing through another market center. The Exchange 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. Also, although routing 
options are available to all Members, Members are not required to use 
the Exchange's routing services, but instead, the Exchange's routing 
services are completely optional. Members can manage their own routing 
to different options exchanges or can utilize a myriad of other routing 
solutions that are available to market participants. Finally, the 
Exchange believes that its proposal to modify routing fees to C2 is 
reasonable because the modified fee is a better approximation of the 
cost to the Exchange for routing Customer orders to C2.

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

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change imposes 
any burden on competition.

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.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \13\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(2) thereunder,\14\ the Exchange has designated this proposal as 
establishing or changing a due, fee, or other charge applicable to the 
Exchange's Members and non-members, which renders the proposed rule 
change effective upon filing.
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    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \14\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the 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 email to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-BATS-2011-049 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-BATS-2011-049. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if email 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

[[Page 77578]]

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 such filing will also 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 No. SR-BATS-2011-049 and should be 
submitted on or before January 3, 2012.

    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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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-31891 Filed 12-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P