[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78547-78548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30226]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-73889; File No. SR-ISEGemini-2014-30]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; ISE Gemini, LLC; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the 
Schedule of Fees

December 19, 2014.
    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 December 15, 2014, ISE Gemini, LLC (the ``Exchange'' or ``ISE 
Gemini'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or 
``Commission'') the proposed rule change, as described in Items I, II, 
and III 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 the 
Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

    ISE Gemini is proposing to amend language in the Schedule of Fees 
related to excluding days from its average daily volume (``ADV'') 
calculations when the market is not open for the entire trading day. 
The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
Internet Web site at http://www.ise.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 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
    The Exchange proposes to amend language in the Schedule of Fees 
related to excluding days from its ADV calculations when the market is 
not open for the entire trading day. The Exchange currently provides 
tiered fees and rebates to market participants based on members' ADV in 
a given month. In determining applicable tiers, the Exchange may 
exclude from its ADV calculation any day that the market is not open 
for the entire trading day. This allows the Exchange to exclude days, 
for example, where the Exchange declares a trading halt in all 
securities, honors a market-wide trading halt declared by another 
market, or closes early for holiday observance. On November 3, 2013, 
the Exchange's affiliate, the International Securities Exchange, LLC 
(``ISE''), amended its Schedule of Fees to permit it to exclude days 
only for those members that would have a lower ADV with the day 
included.\3\ As noted in the ISE proposed rule filing, some members may 
be inadvertently disadvantaged when a day is removed from the ADV 
calculation if the member continues to trade significant volume on that 
day. In order to prevent this undesirable result, and preserve the 
Exchange's intent behind adopting volume-based pricing, ISE Gemini 
proposes to adopt language similar to ISE, allowing the Exchange to 
exclude days from its ADV calculation only for members that would have 
a lower ADV with the day included.
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 73601 (November 14, 
2014), 79 FR 69170 (November 20, 2014) (SR-ISE-2014-51).
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with the provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\4\ in general, and Section 
6(b)(4) of the Act,\5\ 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 it is reasonable and equitable to only exclude a 
day from its ADV calculations for members that would otherwise have a 
lower ADV for the month as this preserves the Exchange's intent behind 
adopting volume-based pricing, and avoids penalizing members that 
continue to actively trade during excluded days. Without this change, 
members that step up and trade significant volume on days where the 
market is not open for the entire trading day may be negatively 
impacted, resulting in an effective cost increase for those members. 
The Exchange further believes that the proposed rule change is not 
unfairly discriminatory because it applies equally to all members and 
ADV calculations. As is ISE Gemini's current practice, the Exchange 
will provide a notice, and post it on the Exchange's Web site, to 
inform members of any day that is to be excluded from its ADV 
calculations in connection with this proposed rule change.
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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\6\ the Exchange does 
not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on 
intermarket or intramarket competition that is not necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange 
believes that the proposed

[[Page 78548]]

modifications to its ADV calculation are pro-competitive and will 
result in lower total costs to end users, a positive outcome of 
competitive markets. The Exchange operates in a highly competitive 
market in which market participants can readily direct their order flow 
to competing venues. In such an environment, the Exchange must 
continually review, and consider adjusting, its fees and rebates to 
remain competitive with other exchanges. For the reasons described 
above, the Exchange believes that the proposed fee changes reflect this 
competitive environment.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    The Exchange has not solicited, and does not intend to solicit, 
comments on this proposed rule change. The Exchange has not received 
any unsolicited written comments from members or other interested 
parties.

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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,\7\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder,\8\ because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge 
imposed by ISE Gemini.
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    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \8\ 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. If the Commission 
takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings to 
determine whether the proposed rule should be approved or disapproved.

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-ISEGemini-2014-30 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Brent J. Fields, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ISEGemini-2014-30. 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 
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such 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-ISEGemini-2014-30, and 
should be submitted on or before January 20, 2015.

    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)(12).
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Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-30226 Filed 12-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P