[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1768-1769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-319]



[[Page 1768]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-66108; File No. SR-NYSE-2011-71]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change 
Amending its Price List to (1) Adopting a Trading License Fee for 
Calendar Year 2012 and (2) Eliminating the NYSE E-Broker[supreg] Hand 
Held Device Fee and the NYSE E-Broker[supreg] Hand Held Device--Opening 
and Closing Order Imbalances Only (Together the ``Hand Held Device 
Fees''), the Fee for Approval of a Pre-Qualified Substitute, and the 
Badge Maintenance Fee

January 5, 2012.
    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 December 30, 2011, New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' 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. 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 its Price List to (1) adopt a 
trading license fee for calendar year 2012 and (2) eliminate the NYSE 
e-Broker[supreg] Hand Held Device fee and the NYSE e-Broker[supreg] 
Hand Held Device--Opening and Closing Order Imbalances Only (together 
the ``Hand Held Device fees''), the fee for approval of a pre-qualified 
substitute, and the badge maintenance fee. The text of the proposed 
rule change is available at the Exchange's principal office, at 
www.nyse.com, at the Commission's Public Reference Room, and at the 
Commission's Web site at 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 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to amend its Price List to (1) adopt a 
trading license fee for calendar year 2012 and (2) eliminate the Hand 
Held Device fees, the fee for approval of a pre-qualified substitute, 
and the badge maintenance fee.
    NYSE Rule 300(b) provides that, in each annual offering, up to 1366 
trading licenses for the following calendar year will be sold annually 
at a price per trading license to be established each year by the 
Exchange pursuant to a rule filing submitted to the Commission and that 
the price per trading license will be published each year in the 
Exchange's price list. The Exchange proposes to leave the current 
trading license fees in place for 2012: $40,000 for the first two 
licenses held by a member organization, and $25,000 for each additional 
license. Fees will continue to be prorated for any portion of the year 
that a license may be outstanding.
    The Exchange proposes to eliminate the $5,000 per year fee for NYSE 
e-Broker[supreg] Hand Held Devices, the $250 per month fee for NYSE e-
Broker[supreg] Hand Held Device--Opening and Closing Order Imbalances 
Only, the $1,000 per year fee for approval of a pre-qualified 
substitute, and the $250 per year badge maintenance fee because it 
believes the transaction fees and the annual fee adequately cover any 
costs related to such approval and maintenance.
    The Exchange proposes to make the rule change operative on January 
1, 2012.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) 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. The Exchange believes 
that the proposal constitutes an equitable allocation of fees, as all 
similarly situated member organizations will be subject to the same fee 
structure and access to the Exchange's market is offered on fair and 
non-discriminatory terms. The Exchange also believes that the trading 
license is reasonable because it is the same as it was for last 
year.\5\ The elimination of the Hand Held Device fees, the fee for 
approval of a pre-qualified substitute, and the badge maintenance fee 
is reasonable because the fees are not currently a significant source 
of revenue and the Exchange can instead cover any related costs via 
transaction fees and the annual trading license fee.
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    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 64582 (June 2, 
2011), 76 FR 33390 (June 8, 2011) (SR-NYSE-2011-23).
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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) \6\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-
4 \7\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge 
imposed by the NYSE.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \7\ 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:

[[Page 1769]]

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-NYSE-2011-71 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-2011-71. 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 
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-2011-71 and should be 
submitted on or before February 1, 2012.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
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    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-319 Filed 1-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P