[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 183 (Tuesday, September 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57262-57263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23974]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-75931; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2015-109]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To 
Amend Chapter XV, Section 2 Entitled ``NASDAQ Options Market--Fees and 
Rebates''

September 16, 2015.
    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 September 3, 2015, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq'' or 
``Exchange'') 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 
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 Chapter XV, entitled ``Options 
Pricing,'' at Section 2, which governs pricing for NASDAQ members using 
the NASDAQ Options Market (``NOM''), NASDAQ's facility for executing 
and routing standardized equity and index options, to remove references 
to options on the Nasdaq-100 Index traded under the symbol NDX 
(``NDX'').
    While the changes proposed herein are effective upon filing, the 
Exchange has designated the amendments become operative on October 1, 
2015.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
Web site at http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.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 Exchange 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 Chapter XV, Section 2, ``NASDAQ 
Options Market--Fees and Rebates'' to remove references to NDX, as this 
index will be delisted on or before September 30, 2015.
    Today, the Exchange assesses fees and pays rebates related to the 
NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC NDX proprietary index listed on NOM. The Exchange 
assesses the following Non-Penny Pilot fees for NDX:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                          Non-NOM market    NOM market
                                                             Customer      Professional        Firm            maker           maker       Broker-dealer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-Penny Pilot Options (including NDX \1\):
    Fee for Adding Liquidity............................             N/A           $0.45           $0.45           $0.45           $0.35           $0.45
    Fee for Removing Liquidity..........................            0.85            0.94            0.94            0.94            0.94            0.94
    Rebate to Add Liquidity.............................            0.84             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A  ..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Additionally, for transactions in NDX, a surcharge of $0.15 per 
contract is added to the Fee for Adding Liquidity and the Fee for 
Removing Liquidity in Non-Penny Pilot Options, except for a Customer 
who will not be assessed a surcharge.
    The Exchange will delist this proprietary index and will no longer 
assess the above-referenced fees or pay rebates for NDX. The Exchange 
proposes to remove references to NDX from the fee schedule, including 
current note 1 in the fee schedule at Chapter XV, Section 2(1), which 
relates to NDX transactions. The NDX surcharge of $0.15 per contract 
would also no longer be assessed.
2. Statutory Basis
    NASDAQ believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with 
the

[[Page 57263]]

provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\3\ in general, and with Section 
6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\4\ in particular, in that it provides 
for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges 
among members and issuers and other persons using any facility or 
system which NASDAQ operates or controls, and is not designed to permit 
unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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    The Exchange's proposal to remove the references to NDX, not assess 
fees or surcharges for NDX or pay rebates for NDX is reasonable because 
the Exchange is seeking to delist this index from NOM on or before 
September 30, 2015.
    The Exchange's proposal to remove the references to NDX, not assess 
fees or surcharges for NDX or pay rebates for NDX is equitable and not 
unfairly discriminatory because no market participant will be able to 
transact options in NDX as of the delisting.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    NASDAQ does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose 
any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance 
of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange will delist NDX on or before 
September 30, 2015 and no longer offer market participants the 
opportunity to transact options in that index on NOM. The removal of 
references to NDX from the fee schedule does not impose an undue burden 
on competition because NOM Participants will not be able to transact 
options in NDX on NOM as of the delisting.

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 has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.\5\
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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: (i) 
Necessary or appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the 
protection of investors; or (iii) 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-NASDAQ-2015-109 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-NASDAQ-2015-109. 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 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-NASDAQ-2015-109 and should 
be submitted on or before October 13, 2015.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\6\
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    \6\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-23974 Filed 9-21-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P