[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59676-59677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20741]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-78660; File No. SR-FINRA-2016-034]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a 
Proposed Rule Change To Extend the Effective Date of SR-FINRA-2016-028

August 24, 2016.
    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 August 19, 2016, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 
(``FINRA'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' 
or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and 
II below, which Items have been prepared by FINRA. FINRA has designated 
the proposed rule change as constituting a ``non-controversial'' rule 
change under paragraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b-4 under the Act,\3\ which 
renders the proposal effective upon receipt of this filing by the 
Commission. 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.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    FINRA is proposing to extend the effective date of SR-FINRA-2016-
028 until October 24, 2016.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on FINRA's Web 
site at http://www.finra.org, at the principal office of FINRA 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, FINRA 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. FINRA 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
    On July 22, 2016, FINRA filed a proposed rule change (SR-FINRA-
2016-028) \4\ to amend Rule 6121.01 (Trading Pauses) to clarify the 
operation of the Regulation NMS Plan to Address Extraordinary 
Volatility (``Plan'') \5\ regarding the short period of time (generally 
up to three milliseconds) following the resumption of trading after a 
Trading Pause or Regulatory Halt and before the Price Bands are 
received from the Processor for securities that are subject to the 
Plan.
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    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 78435 (July 28, 
2016), 81 FR 51239 (August 3, 2016) (Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of File No. SR-FINRA-2016-028).
    \5\ Unless otherwise specified, the capitalized terms used 
herein have the same meanings as set forth in the Plan.
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    Specifically, SR-FINRA-2016-028 provided that, following a Trading 
Pause or Regulatory Halt in an NMS Stock that is subject to the Plan, a 
member may resume trading otherwise than on an exchange if trading has 
commenced on the primary listing exchange (or on another national 
securities exchange in the case of the resumption of trading following 
a ten-minute trading pause) and either: (1) The member has received the 
Price Bands from the Processor; or (2) if immediately following a 
Trading Pause or Regulatory Halt the member has not yet received the 
Price Bands from the Processor, the member has calculated an upper 
price band and lower price band consistent with the methodology 
provided for in Section V of the Plan and ensures that any transactions 
prior to the receipt of the Price Bands from the Processor are within 
the ranges provided for pursuant to the Plan, consistent with Section 
VI(A)(1) of the Plan.
    In SR-FINRA-2016-028, FINRA established an effective date of August 
22, 2016 for the proposed rule change. FINRA is filing the instant 
proposal to extend the effective date until October 24, 2016 to permit 
members additional time to make any technological changes necessary in 
connection with SR-FINRA-2016-028.
    FINRA has filed the proposed rule change for immediate 
effectiveness and has requested that the SEC waive the requirement that 
the proposed rule change not become operative for 30 days after the 
date of the filing. The operative date of the proposed rule change will 
be August 19, 2016 to extend the effective date of SR-FINRA-2016-028 
until October 24, 2016.
2. Statutory Basis
    FINRA believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the 
provisions of Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act,\6\ which requires, among 
other things, that FINRA rules must be designed to prevent fraudulent 
and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable 
principles of trade, and, in general, to protect investors and the 
public interest. The proposed rule change also is designed to support 
the principles of Section 11A(a)(1) of the Act \7\ in that it seeks to 
assure fair competition among brokers and dealers and among exchange 
markets.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(6).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1(a)(1).
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    The proposed rule change is designed to provide members additional 
time to make any technological changes necessary in connection with SR-
FINRA-2016-028, which was designed to better implement the goals of the 
Plan approved by the Commission as reasonably designed to prevent 
potentially harmful price volatility, including severe volatility of 
the kind that occurred on May 6, 2010. Thus, FINRA believes that the 
proposed rule change seeks to help ensure that the goals of the Plan 
are met.

[[Page 59677]]

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

    FINRA does not believe that the proposed rule change will result in 
any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The proposed rule change 
provides members additional time to take measures to ensure that their 
trading activity is in compliance with FINRA Rule 6190 and the Plan.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    The Commission received one comment letter in response to the 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of SR-FINRA-2016-028.\8\ 
FIF members expressed agreement with the intent of the rule change, but 
stated that members were concerned regarding the effective date of SR-
FINRA-2016-028, particularly given the numerous regulatory initiatives 
currently scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of 2016. Among 
other things, FIF stated that feedback from its members indicated that 
three to four months would be a sufficient timeframe for technology 
changes. FINRA believes that the instant proposal, which provides a 
total of three months from the date of filing of SR-FINRA-2016-028, 
provides members with sufficient time to make any technological changes 
necessary in connection with SR-FINRA-2016-028.
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    \8\ See Letter from Christopher W. Bok, Financial Information 
Forum, to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Commission, dated August 11, 
2016 (``FIF''), available at https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-finra-2016-028/finra2016028-1.pdf.
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III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    Because the foregoing 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 for 30 days from the date on which it was filed, or 
such shorter time as the Commission may designate, it has become 
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \9\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6) thereunder.\10\
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    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \10\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6) 
requires a self-regulatory organization to give the Commission 
written notice of its intent to file 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. 
The Commission has waived the pre-filing requirement.
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    A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \11\ normally 
does not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of the 
filing. However, pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii),\12\ 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 FINRA may 
implement the proposed rule change immediately. The Commission believes 
that waiving the 30-day operative delay is consistent with the 
protection of investors and the public interest because it will 
immediately extend the operative date of SR-FINRA-2016-028 from August 
22, 2016 to October 24, 2016, which will allow FINRA members additional 
time to make any technological changes necessary in connection with SR-
FINRA-2016-028. Therefore, the Commission hereby waives the 30-day 
operative delay and designates the proposed rule change to be operative 
upon filing with the Commission.\13\
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    \11\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \12\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
    \13\ For purposes only of waiving the operative delay for this 
proposal, the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact 
on efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 
78c(f).
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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 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-FINRA-2016-034 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-FINRA-2016-034. 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 
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of FINRA. 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-FINRA-2016-034 and should be 
submitted on or before September 20, 2016.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\14\
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    \14\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-20741 Filed 8-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P