[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10935-10936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04964]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-82823; File No. SR-MIAX-2018-09]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami International Securities 
Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a 
Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its Fee Schedule

March 7, 2018.
    Pursuant to the provisions of 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 March 1, 2018, Miami International Securities 
Exchange LLC (``MIAX Options'' or ``Exchange'') filed with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') a proposed rule 
change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have 
been prepared by the Exchange. 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

    The Exchange is filing a proposal to amend the MIAX Options Fee 
Schedule (the ``Fee Schedule'').
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
website at http://www.miaxoptions.com/rule-filings, at MIAX's principal 
office, 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 Exchange 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
    The Exchange proposes to amend its Fee Schedule to introduce a cap 
on the amount of Member Participant Identifier (``MPID'') \3\ fees that 
are assessed by the Exchange on an Electronic Exchange Member (``EEM'') 
\4\ per month. The Exchange is not proposing any new fees; the Exchange 
is simply proposing to introduce a monthly cap on certain existing 
fees.
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    \3\ An MPID is a code used in the MIAX Options system to 
identify the participant to MIAX Options and to the participant's 
Clearing Member respecting trades executed on MIAX Options. 
Participants may use more than one MPID.
    \4\ The term ``Electronic Exchange Member'' or ``EEM'' means the 
holder of a Trading Permit who is a Member representing as agent 
Public Customer Orders or Non-Customer Orders on the Exchange and 
those non-Market Maker Members conducting proprietary trading. See 
Exchange Rule 100.
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    The amount of MPID fees assessed by the Exchange on a particular 
EEM in a particular month is based on the number of MPIDs assigned to 
the particular EEM in the System \5\ in a given month, for each month 
the Member \6\ is credentialed to use such MPID in the production 
environment.\7\ EEMs request MPID assignments from the Exchange. EEMs 
are assessed a monthly MPID fee of $200.00 for the first MPID assigned, 
$100.00 each for the second through fifth MPID assigned, and $50.00 
each for the sixth MPID and any additional MPIDs assigned. The Exchange 
assesses MPID fees in order to cover the administrative costs it incurs 
in assigning and managing these identifiers for each EEM.
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    \5\ The term ``System'' means the automated trading system used 
by the Exchange for the trading of securities. See Exchange Rule 
100.
    \6\ The term ``Member'' means an individual or organization 
approved to exercise the trading rights associated with a Trading 
Permit. Members are deemed ``members'' under the Exchange Act. See 
Exchange Rule 100.
    \7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 68645 (January 14, 
2013), 78 FR 4175 (January 18, 2013) (SR-MIAX-2012-05).
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    The Exchange now proposes to cap MPID fees at $1,000.00 per month 
per EEM, regardless the actual number of MPIDs assigned to such EEM. As 
a practical matter, using the current fee table in Section 5e) of the 
Fee Schedule, the 14th MPID assigned to an EEM and each MPID thereafter 
would not incur an additional MPID fee, as the EEM would reach the cap 
of $1,000.00 after assignment of the 13th MPID for that month.
    The Exchange believes that establishing a monthly cap on MPID fees 
will give Members greater flexibility to accommodate their varying 
business models and customer configurations, as many Members often 
request multiple MPIDs from the Exchange, and the Exchange does not 
want MPID costs to serve as a barrier for requesting multiple MPIDs. 
The Exchange notes that several other

[[Page 10936]]

exchanges offer fee caps on certain non-transaction fees as well.\8\
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    \8\ See the Nasdaq Phlx LLC Pricing Schedule, Section VI(D), 
Remote Specialist Fee (fee cap of $4,500 per month). See also the 
Nasdaq ISE, LLC Schedule of Fees, Section V(D), INET Port Fees (fee 
cap of $4,000 per month for OTTO Port Fee).
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposal to amend its Fee Schedule 
is consistent with Section 6(b) \9\ of the Act in general, and furthers 
the objectives of Section 6(b)(4) \10\ of the Act, in that it is 
designed to provide for an equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 
fees and other charges among Exchange Members and issuers and other 
persons using its facilities, because it applies equally to all Members 
and any persons using the facilities or services of the Exchange. The 
Exchange also believes that the proposal furthers the objectives of 
Section 6(b)(5) \11\ 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 mechanisms 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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    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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    The Exchange believes that the proposed amendment to establish a 
fee cap on MPID fees is reasonable, equitable, and not unfairly 
discriminatory. The proposal to cap the total amount of MPID fees that 
can be assessed upon an EEM to a maximum of $1,000.00 per month is 
designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade by 
encouraging Members to configure their MPID assignments with greater 
granularity and for MPID costs to not serve as a barrier for requesting 
multiple MPIDs. Because any EEM is eligible to take advantage of the 
fee cap, the Exchange believes the fee cap is fair and equitable and 
not unreasonably discriminatory because it applies equally to all 
Members, and access to such fee cap is offered on terms that are not 
unfairly discriminatory.

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

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange believes that the 
proposed rule change would promote transparency by providing Members 
with more flexibility to configure their MPIDs with greater granularity 
by offering a reasonably designed fee structure and fee cap. 
Additionally, respecting intra-market competition, the fee cap on MPID 
assignments is available to all Members, thus providing all Members 
with an even playing field with respect to amount of fees that can be 
assessed by the Exchange for MPID assignments. The Exchange notes that 
it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants 
can readily favor competing venues if they deem fee levels at a 
particular venue to be excessive. In such an environment, the Exchange 
must continually adjust its fees and fee waivers to remain competitive 
with other exchanges and to attract order flow to the Exchange.

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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,\12\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \13\ thereunder. 
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.
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    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \13\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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-MIAX-2018-09 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-MIAX-2018-09. 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 website (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 website 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. Persons submitting comments are 
cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying 
information from comment submissions. You should submit only 
information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions 
should refer to File Number SR-MIAX-2018-09 and should be submitted on 
or before April 3, 2018.

    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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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-04964 Filed 3-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P