[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 204 (Thursday, October 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64046-64048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26810]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-76180; File No. SR-ISEGemini-2015-19]


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

October 16, 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 October 1, 2015, ISE Gemini, LLC (the ``Exchange'' or ``ISE 
Gemini'') 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

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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 language in the Schedule of Fees 
related to excluding days from its average daily volume 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
    Currently, for purposes of determining a member's average daily 
volume (``ADV''), any day that the market is not open for the entire 
trading day may be excluded from such calculation. The Exchange 
proposes to amend language in the Schedule of Fees related to excluding 
days from the ADV calculations used to determine applicable fee and 
rebate tiers. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to permit days to be 
excluded from its ADV calculations where the Exchange is technically 
open for the entire trading day, but has instructed members to route 
away due to a systems or other error that ultimately does not impact 
trading on the Exchange. Currently, the Exchange's ability to remove 
days from its ADV calculations is limited to days where 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. Because these 
days generally have artificially lower trading volume, the Exchange 
believes that it is reasonable and equitable to not include such days 
in determining fee and rebate tiers. The Exchange notes, however, that 
if it has a systems issue in the morning before the market opens, it 
may instruct members to route away to other markets. If the systems 
issue continues into trading hours, the Exchange is permitted to 
exclude the day for all members that would have a lower ADV with the 
day included. If, however, the systems issue is resolved prior to the 
opening of trading, the Exchange is not permitted to exclude the day 
from its ADV calculations. This is the case regardless of the fact that 
many members would have already made arrangements to route away in 
accordance with the Exchange's instructions. To prevent this 
undesirable result, and preserve the Exchange's intent behind adopting 
volume-based pricing, the Exchange proposes to allow days to be 
excluded from its ADV calculation whenever all members are instructed, 
in writing, to route their orders to other markets.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with the provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\3\ in general, and Section 
6(b)(4) of the Act,\4\ 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 exclude a day 
from its ADV calculations when members are instructed to route their 
orders to other markets as this preserves the Exchange's intent behind 
adopting volume-based pricing, and avoids penalizing members that 
follow this instruction. Without this change, members that route away 
in accordance with the Exchange's instructions 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 the Exchange's current practice, the Exchange 
will inform members of any day to be excluded from its ADV calculations 
by sending members a notice and posting such notice on the Exchange's 
Web site.
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    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \4\ 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,\5\ 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 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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    \5\ 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,\6\ and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder,\7\ because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge 
imposed by ISE Gemini.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \7\ 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

[[Page 64048]]

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-2015-19 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-2015-19. 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-2015-19, and 
should be submitted on or before November 12, 2015.
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    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-26810 Filed 10-21-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P