[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8310-8313]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03266]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-77110; File No. SR-NYSEMKT-2016-23]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE MKT LLC; Notice of Filing and 
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Modifying the Amex 
Options Deep Market Data Product

February 11, 2016.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby 
given that on February 4, 2016, NYSE MKT LLC (the ``Exchange'' or 
``NYSE MKT'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 
``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II 
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\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 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 modify the Amex Options Deep market data 
product. The proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web 
site at www.nyse.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 self-regulatory organization 
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 those 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 parts of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to modify the Amex Options Deep market data 
product.

[[Page 8311]]

    The Exchange currently offers the following real-time options 
market data feeds: ``Amex Options Top,'' ``Amex Options Deep,'' and 
``Amex Options Complex'' (the ``Amex Options Products''). ``Amex 
Options Top'' is a single market data product that combines last sale 
data, best bids and offers (``BBO''), order imbalance information and 
series status and underlying status messages (collectively called 
security status messages). ``Amex Options Deep'' is also a single 
market data product that provides subscribers NYSE Amex Options quotes 
and orders at the first three price levels in each series on a real-
time basis. ``Amex Options Complex,'' also a single market data 
product, provides subscribers NYSE Amex Options quote and trade 
information (including orders/quotes, requests for responses, and 
trades) for the complex order book on a real-time basis.\4\
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    \4\ See Rule 900.3NY(e), which defines complex orders.
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    The Exchange charges a single fee for Amex Options Top and 
subscribers of Amex Options Top receive all three data feeds described 
above. The Exchange charges a separate fee for Amex Options Complex for 
subscribers that seek to obtain this data feed on a standalone 
basis.\5\
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    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 68004 (Oct. 9, 
2012), 77 FR 62582 (Oct. 15, 2012) (SR-NYSEMKT-2012-49) 
(establishing fees for certain proprietary options market data 
products). See also Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 69524 (May 
6, 2013), 78 FR 27459 (May 10, 2013) (SR-NYSEMKT-2013-35) 
(establishing a schedule of NYSE Amex Options proprietary market 
data fees); 69553 (May 10, 2013), 78 FR 28926 (May 16, 2013) (SR-
NYSEMKT-2013-40) (establishing non-display usage fees and amending 
the professional end-user fees); 71934 (April 11, 2014), 79 FR 21818 
(April 17, 2014) (SR-NYSEMKT-2014-30) (amending the professional 
user fees); 73008 (Sept. 5, 2014), 79 FR 65325 (Sept. 11, 2014) (SR-
NYSEMKT-2014-73) (amending fees for non-display use); and 73589 
(Nov. 13, 2014), 79 FR 68933 (Nov. 19, 2014) (SR-NYSEMKT-2014-94) 
(establishing fees for the complex order book feed); and 76022 
(September 29, 2015), 80 FR 60201 (October 5, 2015) (modifying 
certain proprietary options data products).
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    The Exchange proposes to modify the Amex Options Deep data feed. As 
proposed, Amex Options Deep will also include security status messages, 
the same data that is currently provided as part of Amex Options Top. 
The proposed modification to the Amex Options Deep data feed will allow 
subscribers who currently obtain depth of market data to also receive 
security status messages in a single data feed. Currently, these 
subscribers are required to process two data feeds to get the depth of 
market data and security status information. Offering a data product 
that combines, in one market data product, depth of market data and 
security status messages would provide greater efficiencies and better 
sequencing for vendors and subscribers that currently choose to 
integrate the data after receiving it from the Exchange. As with Amex 
Options Top, Amex Options Deep would provide depth of market and series 
status information on a real-time basis as reported to the Options 
Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'') and disseminated on a consolidated 
basis under the OPRA Plan.\6\
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    \6\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by 
the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') pursuant to 
Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act'') and 
Rule 608 thereunder (formerly Rule 11Aa3-2). See Securities Exchange 
Act Release No. 17638 (March 18, 1981), 22 S.E.C. Docket 484 (March 
31, 1981). The full text of the OPRA Plan is available at http://www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and 
dissemination of last sale and quotation information on options that 
are traded on the participant exchanges. Section 5.2(c) of the OPRA 
Plan also permits OPRA Plan participants to disseminate 
unconsolidated market information to certain of their members under 
certain circumstances. The manner in which the Exchange proposes to 
disseminate the products would comply with Section 5.2(c) of the 
OPRA Plan, pursuant to which the Exchange may not disseminate the 
products ``on any more timely basis than the same information is 
furnished to the OPRA System for inclusion in OPRA's consolidated 
dissemination of Options Information.''
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    The Amex Options Products would continue to be distributed in their 
current format, to maintain the format of the Amex Options Products 
with that of other market data products offered by the Exchange.
    The Exchange does not propose to make any changes to the fees. The 
single fee charged for the Amex Options Product that comprise [sic] the 
Amex Options Top, Amex Options Deep and Amex Options Complex would 
continue to apply. The separate fee that now applies to Amex Options 
Complex, would likewise continue to apply to the Amex Options Complex 
market data product.\7\
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    \7\ The Exchange has not attached an Exhibit 5 with this 
proposed rule change because the Exchange is not proposing to make 
any fee changes associated with the proposed modification to the 
Amex Options Deep market data product.
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    Each of the Amex Options Products would continue to be offered 
through the Exchange's Liquidity Center Network (``LCN''), a local area 
network in the Exchange's Mahwah, New Jersey data center that is 
available to users of the Exchange's co-location services. The Exchange 
would also continue to offer the products through the Exchange's Secure 
Financial Transaction Infrastructure (``SFTI'') network, through which 
all other users and member organizations access the Exchange's trading 
and execution systems and other proprietary market data products.
    The Exchange will announce the date that the Amex Options Deep 
market data product will begin to include security status messages 
through a NYSE Market Data Notice.
    The proposed change is not intended to address any issues other 
than those described herein, and the Exchange is not aware of any 
problems that vendors or subscribers would have in complying with the 
proposed change.
2. Statutory Basis
    The proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) \8\ of the 
Act, in general, and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) \9\ of 
the Act, in particular, in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent 
and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable 
principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with 
persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, to remove 
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and 
a national market system and, in general, to protect investors and the 
public interest, and it is not designed to permit unfair discrimination 
among customers, brokers, or dealers.
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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    The Exchange also believes this proposal is consistent with Section 
6(b)(5) of the Act because it protects investors and the public 
interest and promotes just and equitable principles of trade by 
providing investors with improved options for receiving market data. 
The proposed rule changes would benefit investors by facilitating their 
prompt access to the additional real-time information contained in a 
modified Amex Options Deep market data product.
    In particular, the Exchange believes that combining depth of market 
data with security status messages in the Amex Options Deep product is 
reasonable because it would provide greater efficiencies for vendors 
and subscribers that currently choose to integrate the data after 
receiving it from the Exchange. In addition, the change to the Amex 
Options Deep product reflects the interests and needs of subscribers 
and vendors who will no longer have to subscribe to multiple data feeds 
to obtain the information they want. The Exchange believes the proposed 
changes are reasonable because they would provide vendors and 
subscribers with higher quality market data products.
    In adopting Regulation NMS, the Commission granted self-regulatory

[[Page 8312]]

organizations and broker-dealers increased authority and flexibility to 
offer new and unique market data to consumers of such data. It was 
believed that this authority would expand the amount of data available 
to users and consumers of such data and also spur innovation and 
competition for the provision of market data. The Exchange believes 
that the options data product changes proposed herein are precisely the 
sort of market data product evolutions that the Commission envisioned 
when it adopted Regulation NMS. The Commission concluded that 
Regulation NMS--by lessening regulation of the market in proprietary 
data--would itself further the Act's goals of facilitating efficiency 
and competition:

    [E]fficiency is promoted when broker-dealers who do not need the 
data beyond the prices, sizes, market center identifications of the 
NBBO and consolidated last sale information are not required to 
receive (and pay for) such data. The Commission also believes that 
efficiency is promoted when broker-dealers may choose to receive 
(and pay for) additional market data based on their own internal 
analysis of the need for such data.\10\
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    \10\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 
2005), 70 FR 37496 (June 29, 2005).

    By removing ``unnecessary regulatory restrictions'' on the ability 
of exchanges to sell their own data, Regulation NMS advanced the goals 
of the Act and the principles reflected in its legislative history.
    The Exchange further notes that the existence of alternatives to 
the Exchange's products, including real-time consolidated data, free 
delayed consolidated data, and proprietary data from other sources, 
ensures that the Exchange is not unreasonably discriminatory because 
vendors and subscribers can elect these alternatives.
    The proposed options data products will help to protect a free and 
open market by providing additional data to the marketplace and give 
investors greater choices. In addition, the proposal would not permit 
unfair discrimination because the products will be available to all of 
the Exchange's customers and broker-dealers through both the LCN and 
SFTI.

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

    In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\11\ 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. The market for proprietary data products is 
currently competitive and inherently contestable because there is 
fierce competition for the inputs necessary to the creation of 
proprietary data. Numerous exchanges compete with each other for 
listings, trades, and market data itself, providing virtually limitless 
opportunities for entrepreneurs who wish to produce and distribute 
their own market data. This proprietary data is produced by each 
individual exchange, as well as other entities (such as internalizing 
broker-dealers and various forms of alternative trading systems, 
including dark pools and electronic communication networks), in a 
vigorously competitive market. It is common for market participants to 
further and exploit this competition by sending their order flow and 
transaction reports to multiple markets, rather than providing them all 
to a single market.
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    \11\ 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

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the 
proposed rule change.

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

    The Exchange has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \12\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder.\13\ 
Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the 
protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any 
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to 
30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as 
the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of 
investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become 
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.
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    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
    \13\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). As required under Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii), the Exchange provided the Commission with written 
notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change, along with a 
brief description and the text of the proposed rule change, at least 
five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule 
change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission.
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    A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \14\ normally 
does not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of the 
filing. However, pursuant to Rule 19b4(f)(6)(iii),\15\ the Commission 
may designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the 
protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has asked 
the Commission to waive the 30-day operative delay so that the proposal 
may become operative immediately upon filing. The Commission believes 
that waiver of the operative delay is consistent with investor 
protection and the public interest because the proposal would allow the 
Exchange to offer currently available market data in a streamlined 
format that would enhance the quality of market data available to 
investors and would enable investors to better monitor trading activity 
on the Exchange. Accordingly, the Commission hereby waives the 30-day 
operative delay and designates the proposal operative upon filing.\16\
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    \14\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \15\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
    \16\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay, 
the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact on 
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
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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 under 
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \17\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed 
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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    \17\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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-NYSEMKT-2016-23 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-NYSEMKT-2016-23. 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

[[Page 8313]]

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-NYSEMKT-2016-23 and should 
be submitted on or before March 10, 2016.
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    \18\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\18\
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-03266 Filed 2-17-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P