[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 8, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47469-47470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19381]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-67578; File No. SR-FINRA-2012-037]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 
Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its Rules To Extend the Effective Date of 
the Trading Pause Pilot

August 2, 2012.
    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 July 23, 2012, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, 
Inc. (``FINRA'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and 
II 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\ 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

    FINRA is proposing to amend FINRA Rule 6121 (Trading Halts Due to 
Extraordinary Market Volatility) to extend the effective date of the 
pilot, which is currently scheduled to expire on July 31, 2012, until 
February 4, 2013.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on FINRA's Web 
site at http://www.finra.org, at the principal office of FINRA 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, FINRA 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. The self-regulatory organization 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
    FINRA proposes to amend FINRA Rule 6121.01 to extend the effective 
date of the pilot by which such rule operates, which is currently 
scheduled to expire on July 31, 2012,\3\ until February 4, 2013.
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 66270 (January 30, 
2012), 77 FR 5610 (February 3, 2012) (Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of File No. SR-FINRA-2012-006).
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    FINRA Rule 6121.01 provides that if a primary listing market has 
issued an individual stock trading pause under its rules, FINRA will 
halt trading otherwise than on an exchange in that security until 
trading has resumed on the primary listing market. The pilot was 
developed and implemented as a market-wide initiative by FINRA and 
other self-regulatory organizations (``SROs'') in consultation with 
Commission staff, and is currently applicable to all NMS stocks (other 
than rights and warrants) and specified exchange-traded products 
covered by the trading pause pilot rules of a primary listing 
market.\4\
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    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 65819 (November 23, 
2011), 76 FR 74105 (November 30, 2011) (Notice of Filing and 
Immediate Effectiveness of File No. SR-FINRA-2011-068).
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    The extension proposed herein would allow the pilot to continue to 
operate without interruption while FINRA, the other SROs and the 
Commission further assess the effect of the pilot on the marketplace or 
whether other initiatives should be adopted in lieu of the current 
pilot.
2. Statutory Basis
    FINRA believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the 
provisions of Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act,\5\ which requires, among 
other things, that FINRA rules must be designed to prevent fraudulent 
and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable 
principles of trade and, in general, to protect investors and the 
public interest. FINRA believes that the proposed rule change meets 
these requirements in that it promotes uniformity across markets 
concerning decisions to pause trading in a security when there are 
significant price movements.
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(6).
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    Additionally, extension of the pilot to February 4, 2013 would 
allow the pilot to continue to operate without interruption while 
FINRA, the other SROs and the Commission further assess the effect of 
the pilot on the marketplace and coordinate the duration of the pilot 
with the implementation of the National Market System Plan to Address 
Extraordinary Market Volatility.\6\
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    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67091 (May 31, 
2012), 77 FR 33498 (June 6, 2012) (Order Approving, on a Pilot 
Basis, the National Market System Plan To Address Extraordinary 
Market Volatility).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    FINRA 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.

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

    FINRA has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \7\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder.\8\ 
Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the 
protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any 
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to 
30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as 
the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of 
investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become 
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)

[[Page 47470]]

of the Act \9\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.\10\
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    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
    \8\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \10\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) 
requires FINRA to give the Commission written notice of FINRA's 
intent to file the proposed rule change along with a brief 
description and text of the proposed rule change, at least five 
business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule 
change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission. FINRA 
has satisfied this requirement.
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    A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \11\ normally 
does not become operative for 30 days after the date of filing. 
However, pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) \12\ the Commission may 
designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the 
protection of investors and the public interest. FINRA has asked the 
Commission to waive the 30-day operative delay so that the proposal may 
become operative immediately upon filing.
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    \11\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \12\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
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    The Commission believes that waiving the 30-day operative delay is 
consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest, as 
it will allow the pilot program to continue uninterrupted, thereby 
avoiding the investor confusion that could result from a temporary 
interruption in the pilot program. For this reason, the Commission 
designates the proposed rule change to be operative upon filing.\13\
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    \13\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay, 
the Commission has also considered the proposed rule's impact on 
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 
78c(f).
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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 No. SR-FINRA-2012-037 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-FINRA-2012-037. 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 Commissions 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. Copies of such filing also will 
be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the 
FINRA. 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-
FINRA-2012-037 and should be submitted by August 29, 2012.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\14\
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    \14\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-19381 Filed 8-7-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P