[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 212 (Friday, November 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61354-61356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24168]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-93496; File No. SR-NYSE-2021-63]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To 
Amend Its Price List To Eliminate Expired and Obsolete Pillar Port 
Transition Fee Pricing

November 1, 2021.
    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 October 27, 2021, New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' 
or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, 
II, and III 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 amend its Price List to eliminate expired 
and obsolete Pillar port transition fee pricing. The proposed rule 
change is available on the Exchange's website 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 purpose of this filing is to eliminate expired and obsolete 
Pillar port transition fee pricing now that there are no member 
organizations that did not complete the transition from older to newer 
and more efficient Pillar technology.
    The Exchange proposes to implement these changes to its Price List 
effective October 27, 2021.
Background
    Member organizations enter orders and order instructions, and 
receive information from the Exchange, by establishing a connection to 
a gateway that uses communication protocols that map to the order types 
and modifiers described in Exchange rules. These gateway connections, 
also known as logical port connections, are referred to as ``ports'' on 
the Exchange's Price List. Legacy ports connect with the Exchange via a 
Common Customer Gateway (known as ``CCG'') that accesses its equity 
trading systems (``Phase I ports''). Beginning July 1, 2019, the 
Exchange began making available ports using Pillar gateways to its 
member organizations (``Phase II ports'').
    Effective July 3, 2019, the Exchange introduced transition pricing 
designed to provide member organizations an extended transition period 
to connect to the Exchange using Pillar technology with no fee 
increase. Specifically, the Exchange (1) adopted a cap on monthly fees 
for the use of certain ports connecting to the Exchange for the billing 
months July 2019 through March 2020 (the ``Transition Period''); (2) 
adopted a Decommission Extension Fee applicable for the billing months 
April 2020 through September 2020 (the ``Decommission Period'') for 
legacy port connections; and (3) prorated the monthly fee for certain 
ports activated after July 1, 2019, effective April 1, 2020.\4\
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    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86360 (July 11, 
2019), 84 FR 34210 (July 17, 2019) (SR-NYSE-2019-39).
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    Effective March 2, 2020, the Exchange (1) extended the end of the 
Transition Period from March 2020 to August 2020 for member 
organizations to transition to the utilization of ports that connect to 
the Exchange using Pillar technology; (2) shortened the Decommission 
Period from six months (April 2020-September 2020) to four months 
(September-December 2020); (3) extended the

[[Page 61355]]

effective date that the Exchange would prorate the monthly fee for 
certain ports activated on or after July 1, 2019 from April 1, 2020 to 
September 1, 2020; and (4) revised the fees charged for legacy port 
connections during the Decommission Period.\5\
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    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 88373 (March 12, 
2020), 85 FR 15533 (March 18, 2020) (SR-NYSE-2020-14).
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    Effective August 1, 2020, the Exchange (1) extended the end of the 
Transition Period from August 2020 to October 2020; (2) extended the 
beginning of the Decommission Period from September 2020 to November 
2020 and the end of the Decommission Period from December 2020 to 
February 2021; and (3) extended the effective date that the Exchange 
would prorate the monthly fee for ports activated on or after July 1, 
2019 from September 1, 2020 to November 1, 2020.\6\
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    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89591 (August 18, 
2020), 85 FR 52159 (August 24, 2020) (SR-NYSE-2020-14).
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    Effective October 1, 2020, the Exchange (1) extended the end of the 
Transition Period from October 2020 to December 2020; (2) extended the 
beginning of the Decommission Period from November 2020 to January 2021 
and the end of the Decommission Period from February 2021 to April 
2021; and (3) extended the effective date that the Exchange would 
prorate the monthly fee for ports activated on or after July 1, 2019 
from November 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.\7\
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    \7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90180 (October 14, 
2020), 85 FR 66612 (October 20, 2020) (SR-NYSE-2020-82).
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    Effective December 1, 2020, the Exchange (1) extended the end of 
the Transition Period from December 2020 to February 2021; (2) extended 
the beginning of the Decommission Period from January 2021 to March 
2021 and the end of the Decommission Period from April 2021 to June 
2021; and (3) extended the effective date that the Exchange would 
prorate the monthly fee for ports activated on or after July 1, 2019 
from January 1, 2021 to March 1, 2021.\8\
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    \8\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90661 (December 14, 
2020), 85 FR 82532 (December 18, 2020) (SR-NYSE-2020-99).
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    Effective June 10, 2021, the Exchange extended the end of the 
Decommission Period two months from June 2021 to August 2021.\9\
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    \9\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 92234 (June 22, 
2021), 86 FR 34080 (June 28, 2021) (SR-NYSE-2021-36).
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    Effective September 1, 2021, the Exchange extended the end of the 
Decommission Period one month from August 2021 to September 2021 in 
order to allow member organizations that did not complete the 
transition during the Transition Period the ability to choose to 
continue using Phase I ports until September 2021.\10\
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    \10\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93001 (September 
15, 2021), 86 FR 52530 (September 21, 2021) (SR-NYSE-2021-50).
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    The Decommission Period ended at the end of September 2021. There 
are no member organizations that did not complete the transition to 
Phase II ports during the Transition Period.
Proposed Rule Change
    The Exchange proposes to delete Pillar port transition fee pricing 
(which is applicable to both order/quote entry and drop copy ports) in 
its entirety. Both the Transition Period and the Decommission Period 
have ended and, as noted above, there are no member organizations that 
did not complete the transition to Phase II ports during the Transition 
Period. Since the Exchange is no longer charging port transition fees, 
the Exchange proposes to delete the section of the Price List titled 
``Pillar Port Transition Fee Pricing'' in its entirety as obsolete.
    The proposed changes are not otherwise intended to address any 
other issues, and the Exchange is not aware of any problems that member 
organizations would have in complying with the proposed change.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\11\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\12\ in 
particular, because it provides for the equitable allocation of 
reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its members, issuers and 
other persons using its facilities and does not unfairly discriminate 
between customers, issuers, brokers or dealers.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) & (5).
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The Proposed Change Is Reasonable
    The Exchange believes that the proposed elimination of Pillar port 
transition fees is reasonable because the fees are no longer being 
charged. The Exchange believes it is reasonable to delete obsolete fees 
from the Price List because it would streamline the Price List and 
reduce confusion as to which fees are applicable on the Exchange. The 
Exchange believes that amending the Price List to remove fees that are 
no longer charged would promote the protection of investors and the 
public interest because it would promote clarity and transparency in 
the Price List, thereby enabling market participants to navigate the 
Exchange's Price List more easily.
The Proposal Is an Equitable Allocation of Fees
    The Exchange believes the proposal equitably allocates fees among 
its market participants because the obsolete port transition fees that 
the Exchange proposes to eliminate would be eliminated in their 
entirety, and would no longer be available to any member organization 
in any form. Similarly, the Exchange believes the proposal equitably 
allocates fees among its market participants because elimination of 
obsolete fees would apply to all similarly-situated member 
organizations on an equal basis. All such member organizations would 
continue to be subject to the same fee structure, and access to the 
Exchange's market would continue to be offered on fair and 
nondiscriminatory terms.
The Proposal Is Not Unfairly Discriminatory
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is not unfairly 
discriminatory because it neither targets nor will it have a disparate 
impact on any particular category of market participant. The Exchange 
believes that the proposal is not unfairly discriminatory because the 
proposed elimination of the obsolete fees would affect all similarly-
situated market participants on an equal and non-discriminatory basis. 
The Exchange believes that eliminating obsolete fees would no longer be 
available to any member organization on an equal basis. The Exchange 
also believes that the proposed change would protect investors and the 
public interest because the deletion of obsolete fees would make the 
Price List more accessible and transparent and facilitate market 
participants' understanding of the fees charged for services currently 
offered by the Exchange.
    Finally, the Exchange believes that it is subject to significant 
competitive forces, as described below in the Exchange's statement 
regarding the burden on competition.
    For the foregoing reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposal 
is consistent with the Act.

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

    In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\13\ the Exchange 
believes that the proposed rule change would not impose any burden on 
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance

[[Page 61356]]

of the purposes of the Act. Instead, as discussed above, the proposal 
relates solely to elimination of an obsolete port transition fees and, 
as such, would not have any impact on intra- or inter-market 
competition because the proposed change is solely designed to 
accurately reflect the services that the Exchange currently offers, 
thereby adding clarity to the Price List.
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    \13\ 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 foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to 
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \14\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 
19b-4 \15\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other 
charge imposed by the Exchange.
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    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \15\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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) \16\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed 
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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    \16\ 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-NYSE-2021-63 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-NYSE-2021-63. 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-NYSE-2021-63 and should be submitted on 
or before November 26, 2021.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
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    \17\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-24168 Filed 11-4-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P