[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78541-78543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30442]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-73906; File No. SR-CHX-2014-20]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc.; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 
to Amend the Trading Permit Application Fee

December 22, 2014.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 \2\ thereunder, notice is hereby given 
that on December 15, 2014, the Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc. (``CHX'' 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 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

    CHX proposes to amend the Trading Permit application fee. The text 
of this proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site at 
(www.chx.com) and in the Commission's Public Reference Room.

[[Page 78542]]

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 CHX included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule changes 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 CHX 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 Section A of the Fee Schedule to 
increase the Trading Permit application fee from $200 to $2,000 per 
application.\3\ The Trading Permit application fee is essentially a new 
Participant application fee, as every active Participant must hold a 
Trading Permit and no Participant may hold more than one Trading 
Permit.\4\ The Exchange submits that the current fee is no longer 
commensurate with the actual cost associated with the Exchange's 
comprehensive review of Trading Permit applications. Thus, the Exchange 
believes it is appropriate to increase the Trading Permit application 
fee to be identical to similar fees of other national securities 
exchanges, like NASDAQ and NASDAQ BX.\5\
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    \3\ CHX Article 1, Rule 1(aa) defines ``Trading Permit'' as ``a 
permit issued by the Exchange, granting the holder a revocable 
license to execute approved securities transactions through the 
Exchange's Trading Facilities, or to have those transactions 
executed on its behalf.''
    \4\ CHX Article 3, Rule 2(e) provides that ``all Trading Permits 
must be held by active Participant Firms'' and ``no Participant Firm 
shall hold more than one Trading Permit.''
    \5\ See NASDAQ and NASDAQ BX fee schedules, both of which assess 
a $2,000 fee per new member application.
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    The Exchange also proposes to replace the term ``Trading Permit'' 
after ``$2000/'' with the more accurate term ``application,'' as the 
fee is currently assessed per application. For example, a separate 
Trading Permit application fee is, and will continue to be, assessed 
for each Trading Permit application submitted after (1) a withdrawal of 
an application by a prospective Participant or (2) rejection of an 
application by the Exchange. The Exchange believes that this amendment 
will clarify that if a prospective Participant submits more than one 
Trading Permit application, regardless of the reason, the prospective 
Participant will be assessed the proposed Trading Permit application 
fee for each application. Incidentally, the Exchange also proposes to 
adopt language indicating that the fee is non-refundable.
    The Exchange also proposes to eliminate the new Participant Firm 
registration fee of $200 under Section C. In light of the proposed 
increase to the Trading Permit application fee, the Exchange believes 
that the new Participant Firm registration fee is unnecessary.
    Aside from increasing the Trading Permit application fee to $2,000 
per application and the elimination of the new Participant Firm 
registration fee of $200, the Exchange does not propose to 
substantively modify any other fees, assessments, credits or rebates.
Operative Date
    The Exchange proposes to make this proposed rule change operative 
January 2, 2015.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act \6\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) of the Act \7\ in particular, as the 
proposed rule provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 
fees and other charges among members and other persons using its 
facilities. The Exchange believes that the proposed increase of the 
Trading Permit application fee from $200 to $2,000 per application 
equitably allocates fees among prospective Participants in a non-
discriminatory manner as it will be assessed to all prospective 
Participants. Similarly, the proposed elimination of the new 
Participant Firm registration fee equitably allocates fees among 
prospective Participants in a non-discriminatory manner as it will no 
longer be assessed to any prospective Participants. Moreover, the 
proposed Trading Permit application fee is reasonable in light of the 
fact that it is identical to similar fees of other national securities 
exchanges, like NASDAQ and NASDAQ BX.\8\
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    \6\ 15 U.S. C. 78f.
    \7\ 15 U.S. C. 78f(b)(4).
    \8\ See supra note 5.
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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. To the contrary, the 
proposed Trading Permit application fee will enhance competition as it 
would be identical to similar fees of other national securities 
exchanges, such as NASDAQ and NASDAQ BX.\9\
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    \9\ Id.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were either solicited or received.

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)(ii) of the Act \10\ and subparagraph(f)(2) of Rule 
19b-4 thereunder \11\ because it establishes or changes a due, fee or 
other charge imposed by the Exchange.
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    \10\ 15 U.S. C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \11\ 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. 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 proposal 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-CHX-2014-20 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.

All submissions should refer to File No. SR-CHX-2014-20. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help 
the

[[Page 78543]]

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 changes 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 the filing also will be available 
for inspection and copying at the principal office of the CHX. 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-CHX-2014-20 and should be 
submitted on or before January 20, 2015.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
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    \12\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-30442 Filed 12-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P