[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 187 (Monday, September 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58321-58322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24515]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-75959; File No. SR-ISE Gemini-2015-16]


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

September 22, 2015.
    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 September 11, 2015, ISE Gemini, LLC (the ``Exchange'' or ``ISE 
Gemini'') filed with the Securities and Exchange 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

    ISE Gemini proposes to amend the Schedule of Fees as described in 
more detail below. 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 its Schedule of Fees to increase 
Taker Fees and Fees for Responses to Crossing Orders \3\ (excluding PIM 
orders) for Market Maker,\4\ Non-ISE Gemini Market Maker,\5\ Firm 
Proprietary \6\/Broker-Dealer,\7\ and Professional Customer \8\ 
(collectively, ``non-Priority Customer'') orders in Non-Penny 
Symbols.\9\ In Non-Penny Symbols, the current Taker Fee for Market 
Maker orders is $0.86 per contract, and the current Taker Fee for Non-
ISE Gemini Market Maker, Firm Proprietary/Broker Dealer, and 
Professional Customer orders is $0.87 per contract. Additionally, ISE 
Gemini charges Fees for Responses to Crossing Orders that are 
equivalent to the Taker Fees described above. The Exchange now proposes 
to increase its Taker Fees and Fees for Responses to Crossing Orders to 
$0.89 per contract for all non-Priority Customer orders executed in 
Non-Penny Symbols.
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    \3\ ``Responses to Crossing Orders'' are any contra-side 
interest (i.e., orders & quotes) submitted after the commencement of 
an auction in the Exchange's Facilitation Mechanism, Solicited Order 
Mechanism, Block Order Mechanism or Price Improvement Mechanism 
(``PIM'').
    \4\ The term Market Maker refers to ``Competitive Market 
Makers'' and ``Primary Market Makers'' collectively. See Rule 
100(a)(25).
    \5\ A ``Non-ISE Gemini Market Maker'' is a market maker as 
defined in Section 3(a)(38) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 
as amended, registered in the same options class on another options 
exchange.
    \6\ A ``Firm Proprietary'' order is an order submitted by a 
member for its own proprietary account.
    \7\ A ``Broker-Dealer'' order is an order submitted by a member 
for a broker-dealer account that is not its own proprietary account.
    \8\ A ``Professional Customer'' is a person or entity that is 
not a broker/dealer and is not a Priority Customer.
    \9\ ``Non[hyphen]Penny Symbols'' are options overlying all 
symbols excluding Penny Symbols.
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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,\10\ in general, and 
Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\11\ 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.
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    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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    The Exchange believes that it is reasonable and equitable to 
increase fees for non-Priority Customer orders in Non-Penny Symbols as 
the proposed Taker Fee is marginally higher than ISE's current fees and 
is set at a level ISE believes will remain attractive to its members. 
Further, the proposed Taker Fee is within the range of fees charged by 
other options exchanges, including, for example, the Nasdaq Options 
Market (``NOM''), which charges a fee of $0.94 per contract for Non-
Priority Customer orders in Non-Penny Pilot Symbols.\12\ Similarly, the 
proposed Fee for Responses to Crossing Orders in Non-Penny Symbols is 
being increased slightly and is appropriate to attract price 
improvement for Crossing Orders submitted to ISE. Further, the proposed 
Fee for Responses to Crossing Orders in Non-Penny Symbols is within the 
range of fees charged by other options exchanges, including, for 
example, BOX Options Exchange (``BOX''), which charges up to $1.22 per 
contract for non-customer responses in Non-Penny Pilot Symbols.\13\ In 
addition, while the Exchange is increasing the fee spread between non-
Priority Customer and Priority Customer \14\ orders, the

[[Page 58322]]

Exchange does not believe that the proposed changes are unfairly 
discriminatory. A Priority Customer is by definition not a broker or 
dealer in securities, and does not place more than 390 orders in listed 
options per day on average during a calendar month for its own 
beneficial account(s). This limitation does not apply to participants 
whose behavior is substantially similar to that of market 
professionals, including Professional Customers, who will generally 
submit a higher number of orders (many of which do not result in 
executions) than Priority Customers. Thus, as has historically been the 
case, Priority Customer orders remain entitled to more favorable fees 
than other market participants.
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    \12\ See NOM Fee Schedule, Chapter XV Options Pricing, Sec. 2. 
NASDAQ Options Market--Fees and Rebates.
    \13\ The fees charged by BOX to non-customers for Responses in 
the Solicitation of Facilitation Auction Mechanisms range from $0.20 
to $0.27. See BOX Fee Schedule, Section I. Exchange Fees, C. 
Facilitation and Solicitation Transactions. According to the Fee 
Schedule, ``Responses to Facilitation and Solicitation Orders 
executed in these mechanisms shall be charged the `add' fee.'' Id. 
at Section II. Liquidity Fees and Credits, B. Facilitation and 
Solicitation Transactions, second bullet. The Fee for Adding 
Liquidity in Non-Penny Pilot Classes for all account types is $0.95. 
Id. at Section II. Liquidity Fees and Credits, B. Facilitation and 
Solicitation Transactions. Thus, BOX's fees range from $1.15 to 
$1.22 per contract.
    \14\ In contrast to the proposed Taker Fee and Fee for Responses 
to Crossing Orders of $0.89, Priority Customer orders that remove 
liquidity on ISE Gemini are charged a lower Taker Fee of $0.82 for 
Tier 1 and $0.81 for Tiers 2-5 and a $0.82 Fee for Responses to 
Crossing Orders.
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\15\ 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 proposed 
fees are competitive with fees offered to orders executed on other 
options exchanges. 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 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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    \15\ 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,\16\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder,\17\ because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge 
imposed by ISE Gemini.
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    \16\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \17\ 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 No. SR-ISE Gemini-2015-16 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

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

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ISE Gemini-2015-16. 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-ISE Gemini-2015-16 and 
should be submitted by October 19, 2015.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\18\
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    \18\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-24515 Filed 9-25-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P