[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 210 (Monday, October 31, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75462-75464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26135]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-79152; File No. SR-OPRA-2016-01]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment to the Plan for Reporting of 
Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and Quotation Information To 
Amend the Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fees and Policies with 
Respect to Device-Based Fees

October 25, 2016.
    Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on September 29, 2016, the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'') 
submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') an 
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale 
Reports and Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The OPRA Plan 
Amendment would implement changes to the Professional Subscriber 
Device-Based Fee effective January 1, 2017. The OPRA Plan Amendment 
would also implement minor clarifying changes to the Policies with 
Respect to Device-Based Fees, effective immediately. The Commission is 
publishing this notice to provide interested persons an opportunity to 
submit written comments on the OPRA Plan amendment.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by 
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608 
thereunder. 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. The fourteen participants to the OPRA Plan are BATS 
Exchange, Inc., BOX Options Exchange, LLC, Chicago Board Options 
Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated, EDGX 
Exchange, Inc., International Securities Exchange, LLC, ISE Gemini, 
LLC, ISE Mercury,LLC, Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC, 
NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC, The NASDAQ Stock Market 
LLC, NYSE MKT LLC, and NYSE Arca, Inc.

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[[Page 75463]]

I. Description and Purpose of the Plan Amendment

(a) Fee Schedule Amendments

    The primary purpose of the proposed Fee Schedule amendments is to 
specify OPRA's Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fee effective 
commencing January 1, 2017 and make conforming changes in OPRA's 
Enterprise Rate Professional Subscriber Fee. OPRA's Enterprise Rate 
Professional Subscriber Fee is available to those Professional 
Subscribers that elect that rate in place of the regular OPRA device-
based fees.\4\
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    \4\ OPRA's Enterprise Rate is based on the number of a 
Professional Subscriber's U.S. registered representatives and 
independent investment advisers who contract with the Subscriber to 
provide advisory services to the Subscriber's customers.
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    Specifically, OPRA proposes, effective January 1, 2017, to: (1) 
Increase the current $29.50 monthly per device fee by $1.00; (2) to 
increase the Enterprise Rate, currently a monthly fee of $29.50 times 
the number of a Professional Subscriber's U.S.-based registered 
representatives, to be a monthly fee of $30.50 times the number of the 
Subscriber's U.S.-based registered representatives; and (3) make 
conforming changes to the minimum monthly fee under the Enterprise 
Rate. ``Professional Subscribers'' are persons who subscribe to OPRA 
data, do not qualify for the reduced fees charged to ``Nonprofessional 
Subscribers,'' and do not redistribute the OPRA data to third parties. 
OPRA permits the counting of ``User IDs'' as a surrogate for counting 
``devices'' for purposes of its Professional Subscriber Device-based 
Fees.\5\
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    \5\ See footnote 2 in the OPRA Fee Schedule and OPRA's Policies 
with respect to Device-based Fees.
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    The number of devices reported to OPRA as subject to Professional 
Subscriber Device-Based Fees has been steadily trending downwards over 
many years. In 2008, OPRA received device-based fees, including 
enterprise fees, with respect to approximately 210,500 devices. In 
2014, OPRA received device-based fees, including enterprise fees, with 
respect to approximately 148,400 devices, and in 2015 OPRA received 
device-based fees, including enterprise fees, with respect to 
approximately 141,300 devices. OPRA is receiving device-based fees in 
the third calendar quarter of 2016 with respect to approximately 
135,500 devices--already a reduction of approximately 4.1% from 2015. 
OPRA believes that this long-term downward trend is the result of the 
increasing use of trading algorithms and automated trading platforms 
and other fundamental changes in the securities industry, and OPRA 
anticipates that this trend is likely to continue.
    The proposed increase in the Professional Subscriber Device-Based 
Fees is consistent with OPRA's past practice of making incremental 
$1.00 increases in its monthly Professional Subscriber Device-Based 
Fees,\6\ and OPRA believes that OPRA's Professional Subscribers should 
not be surprised by the increase. The proposed increase in the 
Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fee--which is an increase of 
approximately 3.4%--will partially offset the impact on revenue of the 
reduction in the number of devices in 2016 as compared to 2015.
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    \6\ The year 2015 was an exception: For 2015, OPRA implemented 
an increase of $1.50 in its Professional Subscriber Device-Based 
Fee, because during 2015 one of OPRA's member exchanges initiated 
after-hours trading, causing OPRA to incur additional expenses 
associated with data dissemination during expanded trading hours. 
OPRA implemented $1.00/month increases in its Professional 
Subscriber Device-Based Fee for each of the years 2008-2014 and for 
the year 2016. See, Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72826, 79 FR 
48777 (August 18, 2014) (File No. OPRA-2014-06) and Securities 
Exchange Act Release No. 77585, 81 FR 22668 (April 18, 2016) (File 
No. OPRA-2015-02).
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    A secondary purpose of the proposed Fee Schedule amendments is to 
add the word ``display'' in the statements of the monthly Professional 
Subscriber Device-Based Fees for the periods commencing on January 1, 
2016 and January 1, 2017. A few OPRA Professional Subscribers have 
asked whether, if a device is subject to the Professional Subscriber 
Device-Based Fees, it is therefore not subject to the OPRA Non-Display 
Use Fees, and suggested that a Subscriber could perhaps avoid payment 
of Non-Display Use Fees by attaching a display monitor to a server even 
if the server is being used for Non-Display Use of OPRA data. OPRA 
believes that this suggestion is not consistent even with the current 
wording of the Fee Schedule, but that the addition of the word 
``display'' will make the wording clearer in this respect.

(b) Changes in the Policies With respect to Device-Based Fees

    The proposed changes in the Policies with respect to Device-Based 
Fees are for a purpose similar to the purpose described above of adding 
the word ``display'' in the OPRA Fee Schedule, namely to avert 
misreading the Policies as saying that, if a Professional Subscriber is 
paying Device-Based Fees with respect to a device, the payment of the 
Device-Based Fees in and of itself is a sufficient basis for not paying 
Non-Display Use Fees even if the Non-Display Use Fees would otherwise 
be applicable. No Professional Subscriber has actually suggested such a 
reading to OPRA, and OPRA believes that the suggestion would be 
untenable even in terms of the current phrasing of the Policies, but 
OPRA believes that it is appropriate to revise the Policies to make 
clearer that the Device-based Fees may not be the only fees applicable 
to a particular device that receives OPRA data.
    The text of the amendment to the OPRA Plan is available at OPRA, 
the Commission's Public Reference Room, the OPRA Web site at http://opradata.com, and on the Commission's Web site at www.sec.gov.

II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan Amendment

    Pursuant to paragraph (b)(3)(i) of Rule 608 of Regulation NMS under 
the Act, OPRA designated this amendment as establishing or changing 
fees or other charges collected on behalf of all of the OPRA 
participant exchanges in connection with access to or use of OPRA 
facilities. OPRA proposes to implement the changes in the Professional 
Subscriber Device-Based Fee on January 1, 2017. Implementation of the 
changes in the Professional Subscriber Device-Based Fee on January 1 is 
consistent with OPRA's prior practice with respect to changes in this 
fee, and will provide ample opportunity to give persons subject to this 
fee advance notice of the change. OPRA also proposes to implement the 
changes in the Policies with respect to Device-Based Fees immediately.
    The Commission may summarily abrogate the amendment within sixty 
days of its filing and require refiling and approval of the amendment 
by Commission order pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2) under the Act \7\ if it 
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or the 
maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments to, and 
perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system, or otherwise in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.\8\
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    \7\ See 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2).
    \8\ See 17 CFR 242.608(b)(3)(iii).
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III. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the OPRA Plan 
amendment is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any 
of the following methods:

[[Page 75464]]

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-OPRA-2016-01 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-OPRA-2016-01. 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 OPRA Plan amendment that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the OPRA Plan amendment 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 OPRA. 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-OPRA-2016-01 and should be 
submitted on or before November 21, 2016.

    By the Commission.
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-26135 Filed 10-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P