[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 106 (Monday, June 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25862-25863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11500]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-80805; File No. SR-FINRA-2017-015]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend 
FINRA Rule 7730 To Make Available a New End-of-Day TRACE Transaction 
File

May 30, 2017.
    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 May 18, 2017, 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, 
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by FINRA. 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

    FINRA is proposing to amend FINRA Rule 7730 to make available a new 
End-of-Day TRACE Transaction File.
    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
    Rule 7730 (Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE)), among 
other things, sets forth the TRACE data products offered by FINRA in 
connection with TRACE-Eligible Securities.\3\ FINRA is proposing to 
amend Rule 7730 to make available a new End-of-Day TRACE Transaction 
File to provide interested parties with a simpler means of receiving 
all of the transaction information disseminated each trading day as 
part of Real-Time TRACE transaction data.\4\
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    \3\ Rule 6710 (Definitions) provides that a ``TRACE-Eligible 
Security'' is a debt security that is United States (``U.S.'') 
dollar-denominated and issued by a U.S. or foreign private issuer, 
and, if a ``restricted security'' as defined in Securities Act Rule 
144(a)(3), sold pursuant to Securities Act Rule 144A; or is a debt 
security that is U.S. dollar-denominated and issued or guaranteed by 
an Agency as defined in paragraph (k) or a Government-Sponsored 
Enterprise as defined in paragraph (n); or a U.S. Treasury Security 
as defined in paragraph (p). ``TRACE-Eligible Security'' does not 
include a debt security that is issued by a foreign sovereign or a 
Money Market Instrument as defined in paragraph (o).
    \4\ FINRA currently makes available a Real-Time TRACE 
transaction data product, which provides subscribers with access to 
all disseminated transactions as they are reported throughout the 
trading day. Real-time data is delivered via a NASDAQ Multicast 
feed. To receive the feed, firms must connect either directly to 
NASDAQ, via an extranet connection, or through a retransmission 
vendor. Some market participants have indicated that a simpler 
alternative that allows them to receive transaction information once 
a day in an end-of-day file would be useful.
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    The data elements to be included in the proposed End-of-Day TRACE 
Transaction File would be the same as those disseminated in Real-Time 
TRACE transaction data, and the proposed End-of-Day TRACE Transaction 
File would be separately available for each data set for which Real-
Time TRACE transaction data is available (i.e., the Corporate Bond Data 
Set, Agency Data Set, SP Data Set, and Rule 144A Data Set). Subscribers 
to the End-of-Day TRACE Transaction File would access the product daily 
after the TRACE system closes.\5\
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    \5\ FINRA intends to establish a fee for the End-of-Day TRACE 
Transaction File prior to the effective date of the instant proposed 
rule change. The fee will be established pursuant to a separate rule 
filing.
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    If the Commission approves the proposed rule change, FINRA will 
announce the effective date of the proposed rule change in a Regulatory 
Notice. The effective date will be no later than 365 days following SEC 
approval.
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

[[Page 25863]]

general, to protect investors and the public interest.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(6).
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    Pursuant to the proposal, FINRA would make available to subscribers 
an optional End-of-Day TRACE Transaction File that would include all 
transaction data disseminated that day as part of Real-Time TRACE 
transaction data for TRACE-Eligible Securities. FINRA believes that the 
proposed End-of-Day TRACE Transaction File provides a simpler 
alternative to the Real-Time TRACE transaction data product, which 
provides transparency information on the price and size of transactions 
in TRACE-Eligible Securities, and may be useful to interested parties 
that do not require intra-day, real-time transaction data on TRACE-
Eligible Securities. Thus, FINRA believes that the proposed rule change 
is in the public interest and consistent with the Act.

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

    FINRA does not believe that the proposed rule change would result 
in any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
Economic Impact Analysis
    FINRA's existing Real-Time TRACE data product provides transaction 
data for the following Data Sets: Corporate Bond Data Set, Agency Data 
Set, SP Data Set, and Rule 144A Data Set. As detailed above, FINRA is 
proposing to create an End-of-Day TRACE Transaction File that would 
include all transaction data disseminated that day as part of Real-Time 
TRACE transaction data, and would be separately available for each data 
set for which Real-Time TRACE transaction data is available. The 
proposal to create an End-of-Day TRACE Transaction File would not 
impose any additional reporting requirements or costs on firms, and the 
purchase of TRACE data products would continue to be optional for 
market participants and others and, as a result, would have no direct 
impact on firms.

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

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received.

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

    Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to 
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change, or
    (B) institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 
change should be 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-2017-015 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

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

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-FINRA-2017-015. 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-2017-015 and should be 
submitted on or before June 26, 2017.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\7\
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
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    \7\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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[FR Doc. 2017-11500 Filed 6-2-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P