[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 70 (Thursday, April 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21648-21650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08466]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-69318; File No. SR-CTA/CQ-2013-02]


Consolidated Tape Association; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of the Seventeenth Charges Amendment to the Second 
Restatement of the CTA Plan and Ninth Charges Amendment to the Restated 
CQ Plan

April 5, 2013.
    Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on March 27, 2013, the Consolidated Tape Association (``CTA'') Plan and 
Consolidated Quotation (``CQ'') Plan participants (``Participants'') 
\3\ filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') 
a proposal to amend the Second Restatement of the CTA Plan and Restated 
CQ Plan (collectively, the ``Plans'').\4\ The proposal represents the 
seventeenth charges amendment to the CTA Plan and the ninth charges 
amendment to the CQ Plan (``Amendments'') and delays the effective date 
for the change to the Network B interrogation device fee payable in 
respect of professional subscribers.\5\
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ The Participants are: BATS Exchange, Inc., BATS-Y Exchange, 
Inc., Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated, Chicago Stock 
Exchange, Inc., EDGA Exchange, Inc. (``EDGA''), EDGX Exchange, Inc. 
(``EDGX''), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 
(``FINRA''), International Securities Exchange, LLC, NASDAQ OMX BX, 
Inc. (``Nasdaq BX''), NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc. (``Nasdaq PSX''), Nasdaq 
Stock Market LLC, National Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange 
LLC (``NYSE''), NYSE MKT LLC (formerly NYSE Amex, Inc.), and NYSE 
Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca''). Because the proposal constitutes a 
Ministerial Amendment under both clause (1) of Section IV(b) of the 
CTA Plan and clause (1) of Section IV(c) of the CQ Plan, the 
Chairman of CTA and the CQ Plan's Operating Committee may submit the 
proposal on behalf of the Participants.
    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 10787 (May 10, 
1974), 39 FR 17799 (May 20, 1974) (declaring the CTA Plan 
effective); 15009 (July 28, 1978), 43 FR 34851 (August 7, 1978) 
(temporarily authorizing the CQ Plan); and 16518 (January 22, 1980), 
45 FR 6521 (January 28, 1980) (permanently authorizing the CQ Plan). 
The most recent restatement of both Plans was in 1995. The CTA Plan, 
pursuant to which markets collect and disseminate last sale price 
information for non-NASDAQ listed securities, is a ``transaction 
reporting plan'' under Rule 601 under the Act, 17 CFR 242.601, and a 
``national market system plan'' under Rule 608 under the Act, 17 CFR 
242.608. The CQ Plan, pursuant to which markets collect and 
disseminate bid/ask quotation information for listed securities, is 
a ``national market system plan'' under Rule 608 under the Act, 17 
CFR 242.608.
    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 69157 (March 18, 
2013), 78 FR 17946 (March 25, 2013).
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    Pursuant to Rule 608(b)(3)(ii) under the Act,\6\ the Participants 
designated the Amendments as concerned solely with the administration 
of the Plans. As a result, the Amendments are effective upon filing 
with the Commission. At any time within 60 days of the filing of the 
Amendments, the Commission may summarily abrogate the Amendments and 
require that the Amendments be refiled in accordance with paragraph 
(a)(1) of Rule 608 and reviewed in accordance with paragraph (b)(2) of 
Rule 608, if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary 
or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, 
or the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments 
to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system or 
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Commission is 
publishing this notice to solicit comments from interested persons on 
the proposed Amendments.
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    \6\ 17 CFR 242.608(b)(3)(ii).

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[[Page 21649]]

I. Rule 608(a)

A. Description and Purpose of the Amendments

    On March 11, 2013, the Participants filed for immediate 
effectiveness the Sixteenth Charges Amendment to the Second Restatement 
of the CTA Plan and the Eighth Charges Amendment to the Restated CQ 
Plan.\7\ These two amendments (``Fee Change Amendments'') made a number 
of changes to the fees payable under the Plans in an effort to achieve 
greater simplicity and to reduce administrative burdens. Among those 
fee changes, the Fee Change Amendments combined separate monthly device 
fees that professional subscribers pay for Network B last sale 
information under the CTA Plan and for Network B quotation information 
under the CQ Plan into one monthly fee of $24.00 per device for both 
last sale information and quotation information.
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    \7\ See supra note 5.
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    The Fee Change Amendments stated that the Participants anticipated 
implementing the proposed fee changes in 2013, without specifying a 
date. In the notice that the Participants sent to the industry, they 
specified April 1, 2013, as the date the Fee Change Amendments would be 
implemented.\8\
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    \8\ See email from Steve Abrams, Counsel to the CTA, to Kathy 
England and Natasha Cowen, Securities and Exchange Commission, April 
3, 2013 (clarifying implementation dates applicable to the Fee 
Change Amendments).
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    Subsequently, due to the technical needs of data recipients to make 
systems changes to accommodate the revised fee, the Participants 
decided to extend the effective date for implementation of the combined 
Network B $24.00 device fee to July 1, 2013, and therefore submitted 
the Amendments. The effective date for the changes to the Network A 
device fees and the other changes set forth in the Fee Change 
Amendments remains April 1, 2013. The Amendments do not change the 
language of the CTA Plan or of its fee schedule.

B. Additional Information Required by Rule 608(a)

1. Governing or Constituent Documents
    Not applicable.
2. Implementation of the Amendments
    Because the Amendments constitute ``Ministerial Amendments'' under 
clause (1) of Section IV(b) of the CTA Plan and clause (1) of Section 
IV(c) of the CQ Plan, the Chairman of CTA and the CQ Plan's Operating 
Committee may submit the Amendments to the Commission on behalf of the 
Participants in the CTA Plan and the CQ Plan. Because the Participants 
designate the Amendments as concerned solely with the administration of 
the Plans, the Amendments are effective upon filing with the 
Commission.
3. Development and Implementation Phases
    See Item I(B)(2) above.
4. Analysis of Impact on Competition
    The proposed amendments do not impose any burden on competition 
that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of 
the Act. The Participants do not believe that the Amendments introduce 
terms that are unreasonably discriminatory for the purposes of Section 
11A(c)(1)(D) of the Act.
5. Written Understanding or Agreements Relating to Interpretation of, 
or Participation in, Plan
    Not applicable.
6. Approval by Sponsors in Accordance With Plan
    See Item I(B)(2) above.
7. Description of Operation of Facility Contemplated by the Proposed 
Amendments
a. Terms and Conditions of Access
    See Item I(A) above.
b. Method of Determination and Imposition, and Amount of, Fees and 
Charges
    See Item I(A) above.
c. Method of Frequency of Processor Evaluation
    Not applicable.
d. Dispute Resolution
    Not applicable.

II. Rule 601(a) (Solely in Its Application to the Amendments to the CTA 
Plan)

A. Equity Securities for Which Transaction Reports Shall Be Required by 
the Plan

    Not applicable.

B. Reporting Requirements

    Not applicable.

C. Manner of Collecting, Processing, Sequencing, Making Available and 
Disseminating Last Sale Information

    Not applicable.

D. Manner of Consolidation

    Not applicable.

E. Standards and Methods Ensuring Promptness, Accuracy and Completeness 
of Transaction Reports

    Not applicable.

F. Rules and Procedures Addressed to Fraudulent or Manipulative 
Dissemination

    Not applicable.

G. Terms of Access to Transaction Reports

    Not applicable.

H. Identification of Marketplace of Execution

    Not applicable.

III. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed 
Amendments to the CTA Plan are 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-CTA/CQ-2013-02 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-CTA/CQ-2013-02. 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 Amendments that are filed with 
the Commission, and all written communications relating to the 
Amendments 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 10:00 a.m. and

[[Page 21650]]

3:00 p.m. Copies of the Amendments also will be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the CTA.
    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-CTA/CQ-2013-02 
and should be submitted on or before May 2, 2013.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
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    \9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(27).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-08466 Filed 4-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P