2168 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2011 / Notices 

9 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(a)(ii). 10 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3A Member is any registered broker or dealer, or 

any person associated with a registered broker or 

dealer, that has been admitted to membership in the 

Exchange. 

implications of that competition. 

NASDAQ believes that it has considered 

all relevant factors and has not 

considered irrelevant factors in order to 

establish a fair, reasonable, and not 

unreasonably discriminatory fees and an 

equitable allocation of fees among all 

users. The existence of numerous 

alternatives to NLS, including real-time 

consolidated data, free delayed 

consolidated data, and proprietary data 

from other sources ensures that 

NASDAQ cannot set unreasonable fees, 

or fees that are unreasonably 

discriminatory, without losing business 

to these alternatives. Accordingly, 

NASDAQ believes that the acceptance 

of the NLS product in the marketplace 

demonstrates the consistency of these 

fees with applicable statutory standards. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Three comment letters were filed 

regarding the proposed rule change as 

originally published for comment 

NASDAQ responded to these comments 

in a letter dated December 13, 2007. 

Both the comment letters and 

NASDAQ’s response are available on 

the SEC Web site at http://www.sec.gov/ 

comments/sr-nasdaq-2006–060/ 

nasdaq2006060.shtml. 

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.9 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 e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–NASDAQ–2010–172 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NASDAQ–2010–172. This 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail 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, on official business 

days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 

3 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; 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–NASDAQ–2010–172 and 

should be submitted on or before 

February 2, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.10

Elizabeth M. Murphy, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–431 Filed 1–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–63638; File No. SR–EDGX– 

2010–25] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX 

Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Relating to Amendments 

to the EDGX Exchange, Inc. Fee 

Schedule 

January 4, 2011. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on December 

28, 2010, the EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or the ‘‘EDGX’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which items 

have been prepared by the selfregulatory organization. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend its 

fees and rebates applicable to Members 3

of the Exchange pursuant to EDGX Rule 

15.1(a) and (c). 

All of the changes described herein 

are applicable to EDGX Members. The 

text of the proposed rule change is 

available on the Exchange’s Internet 

Web site at http://www.directedge.com. 

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 these statements may be examined at 

the places specified in Item IV below. 

The self-regulatory organization has 

prepared summaries, set forth in 

sections A, B and C below, of the most 

significant aspects of such statements. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2011 / Notices 2169 

4 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

5 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

6 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

7 17 CFR 19b–4(f)(2). 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

Currently, for orders routed to Nasdaq 

BX that remove liquidity, a rebate of 

$0.0002 per share is provided to 

Members (yielding Flag ‘‘C’’). The 

Exchange proposes to increase this 

rebate to $0.0014 per share to reflect an 

increase in rebate provided by Nasdaq 

BX, effective January 3, 2011. 

In addition, for orders routed or rerouted to NYSE that remove liquidity, a 

fee of $0.0021 is charged to Members 

(yielding Flag ‘‘D’’). The Exchange 

proposes to increase this fee to $0.0023 

to reflect an increase in fee assessed by 

NYSE, effective January 3, 2011. 

Similarly, for orders routed to NYSE 

that add liquidity, a rebate of $0.0013 

per share is provided to Members 

(yielding Flag ‘‘F’’). The Exchange 

proposes to increase this rebate to 

$0.0015 per share to reflect an increase 

in rebate provided by NYSE, effective 

January 3, 2011. 

Currently, Members can qualify for 

the Mega Tier and be provided a rebate 

of $0.0032 per share for all liquidity 

posted on EDGX if they add or route at 

least 5,000,000 shares of average daily 

volume prior to 9:30 a.m. or after 4 p.m. 

(includes all flags except 6) and add a 

minimum of 25,000,000 shares of 

average daily volume on EDGX in total, 

including during both market hours and 

pre and post-trading hours. The 

Exchange proposes to increase this 

rebate to $0.0033 per share to incent 

Members to add liquidity to EDGX 

during both market hours and pre and 

post-trading hours. As fewer Members 

generally trade during pre and posttrading hours because of the time 

parameters associated with these trading 

sessions, the Exchanges believes that 

this proposed increase in rebate would 

incent liquidity during these trading 

sessions. The rebate associated with the 

other method to qualify for the Mega 

Tier (if the Member posts on a daily 

basis, measured monthly, 0.75% of the 

Total Consolidated Volume in average 

daily volume) remains unchanged at 

$0.0032 per share. 

The Exchange believes that the above 

pricing is appropriate since higher 

rebates are directly correlated with more 

stringent criteria. The Mega Tier rebate 

(proposed at $0.0033 per share, 

otherwise set at $0.0032 per share) has 

the most stringent criteria, and is 

$0.0002/$0.0001 greater than the Ultra 

Tier rebate ($0.0031 per share) and 

$0.0003/$0.0002 greater than the Super 

Tier rebate ($0.0030 per share). For 

example, based on average TCV for 

November 2010 (8.0 billion), in order for 

a Member to qualify for the proposed 

Mega Tier rebate of $0.0033, the 

Member would have to add or route at 

least 5,000,000 shares of average daily 

volume prior to 9:30 a.m. or after 4 p.m. 

(includes all flags except 6) AND add a 

minimum of 25,000,000 shares of 

average daily volume on EDGX in total, 

including during both market hours and 

pre and post-trading hours. Another 

way a Member can qualify for the Mega 

Tier (with a rebate of $0.0032 per share) 

would be to post 60 million shares on 

EDGX. In order to qualify for the Ultra 

Tier, which has less stringent criteria 

than the Mega Tier, the Member would 

have to post 40 million shares on EDGX. 

Finally, the Super Tier has the least 

stringent criteria. In order for a Member 

to qualify for this rebate, the Member 

would have to post 10 million shares on 

EDGX. In addition, these rebates also 

result, in part, from lower 

administrative costs associated with 

higher volume. 

EDGX Exchange proposes to 

implement these amendments to the 

Exchange fee schedule on January 1, 

2011. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

the objectives of Section 6 of the Act,4

in general, and furthers the objectives of 

Section 6(b)(4),5 in particular, as it is 

designed to provide for the equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees and 

other charges among its members and 

other persons using its facilities. The 

Exchange notes that it operates in a 

highly competitive market in which 

market participants can readily direct 

order flow to competing venues if they 

deem fee levels at a particular venue to 

be excessive. The proposed rule change 

reflects a competitive pricing structure 

designed to incent market participants 

to direct their order flow to the 

Exchange. The Exchange believes that 

the proposed rates are equitable in that 

they apply uniformly to all Members. In 

addition, the rebates provided result, in 

part, from lower administrative costs 

associated with higher volume. The 

Exchange believes the fees and credits 

remain competitive with those charged 

by other venues and therefore continue 

to be reasonable and equitably allocated 

to Members. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The proposed rule change does not 

impose any burden on competition that 

is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received from 

Members, Participants or Others 

The Exchange has not solicited, and 

does not intend to solicit, comments on 

this proposed rule change. The 

Exchange has not received any 

unsolicited written comments from 

members or other interested parties. 

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) of 

the Act 6 and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) 7

thereunder. 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. 

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 e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–EDGX–2010–25 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–EDGX–2010–25. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail 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 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

2170 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2011 / Notices 

8The text of the proposed rule change is available 

on Exchange’s Web site at http:// 

www.directedge.com, on the Commission’s Web site 

at http://www.sec.gov, at EDGX, and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

9 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Options classes subject to maker/taker fees are 

identified by their ticker symbol on the Exchange’s 

Schedule of Fees. See Securities Exchange Act 

Release Nos. 61869 (April 7, 2010), 75 FR 19449 

(April 14, 2010) (SR–ISE–2010–25), 62048 (May 6, 

2010), 75 FR 26830 (May 12, 2010) (SR–ISE–2010– 

43), 62282 (June 11, 2010), 75 FR 34499 (June 17, 

2010) (SR–ISE–2010–54), 62319 (June 17, 2010), 75 

FR 36134 (June 24, 2010) (SR–ISE–2010–57), 62508 

(July 15, 2010), 75 FR 42809 (July 22, 2010) (SR– 

ISE–2010–65), 62507 (July 15, 2010), 75 FR 42802 

(July 22, 2010) (SR–ISE–2010–68), 62665 (August 9, 

2010), 75 FR 50015 (August 16, 2010) (SR–ISE– 

2010–82), 62805 (August 31, 2010), 75 FR 54682 

(September 8, 2010) (SR–ISE–2010–90), 63283 

(November 9, 2010), 75 FR 70059 (November 16, 

2010) (SR–ISE–2010–106) and 63534 (December 13, 

2010), 75 FR 79433 (December 20, 2010) (SR–ISE– 

2010–114). 

4A Market Maker Plus is a market maker who is 

on the National Best Bid or National Best Offer 80% 

of the time for series trading between $0.03 and 

$5.00 (for options whose underlying stock’s 

previous trading day’s last sale price was less than 

or equal to $100) and between $0.10 and $5.00 (for 

options whose underlying stock’s previous trading 

day’s last sale price was greater than $100) in 

premium in each of the front two expiration months 

and 80% of the time for series trading between 

$0.03 and $5.00 (for options whose underlying 

stock’s previous trading day’s last sale price was 

less than or equal to $100) and between $0.10 and 

$5.00 (for options whose underlying stock’s 

previous trading day’s last sale price was greater 

than $100) in premium across all expiration months 

in order to receive the rebate. The Exchange 

determines whether a market maker qualifies as a 

Market Maker Plus at the end of each month by 

looking back at each market maker’s quoting 

statistics during that month. If at the end of the 

month, a market maker meets the Exchange’s stated 

criteria, the Exchange rebates $0.10 per contract for 

transactions executed by that market maker during 

that month. The Exchange provides market makers 

a report on a daily basis with quoting statistics so 

that market makers can determine whether or not 

they are meeting the Exchange’s stated criteria. 

5A Customer (Professional) is a person who is not 

a broker/dealer and is not a Priority Customer. 

6A Non-ISE Market Maker, or Far Away Market 

Maker (‘‘FARMM’’), is a market maker as defined in 

Section 3(a)(38) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934, as amended (‘‘Exchange Act’’), registered in 

the same options class on another options 

exchange. 

7A Priority Customer is defined in ISE Rule 

100(a)(37A) as a person or entity that is not a 

broker/dealer in securities, and does not place more 

than 390 orders in listed options per day on average 

during a calendar month for its own beneficial 

account(s). 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission,8 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 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; 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–EDGX– 

2010–25 and should be submitted on or 

before February 2, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.9

Elizabeth M. Murphy, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–430 Filed 1–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–63664; File No. SR–ISE– 

2010–120] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

International Securities Exchange, 

LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of Proposed Rule 

Change, as Modified by Amendment 

No. 1, Relating to Fees and Rebates for 

Adding and Removing Liquidity 

January 6, 2011. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on December 

23, 2010, the International Securities 

Exchange, LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or the 

‘‘ISE’’) filed with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission the proposed 

rule change, and on January 5, 2011, 

filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed 

rule change, as described in Items I and 

II 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, 

as amended, from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of the Substance 

of the Proposed Rule Change 

The ISE is proposing to amend its 

transaction fees and rebates for adding 

and removing liquidity. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available on the 

Exchange’s Web site (http:// 

www.ise.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 these statements may be examined at 

the places specified in Item IV below. 

The self-regulatory organization 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 currently assesses a per 

contract transaction charge to market 

participants that add or remove 

liquidity from the Exchange (‘‘maker/ 

taker fees’’) in 100 options classes (the 

‘‘Select Symbols’’).3 The Exchange 

currently charges a take fee of: (i) $0.25 

per contract for Market Maker, Market 

Maker Plus,4 Firm Proprietary and 

Customer (Professional) 5 orders; (ii) 

$0.35 per contract for Non-ISE Market 

Maker 6 orders; (iii) $0.20 per contract 

for Priority Customer 7 orders for 100 or 

more contracts. Priority Customer orders 

for less than 100 contracts are not 

assessed a fee for removing liquidity. 

The Exchange now proposes to increase 

the take fee for Firm Proprietary and 

Customer (Professional) orders from 

$0.25 per contract to $0.28 per contract. 

Additionally, in the interest of 

standardizing the take fee charged for 

Priority Customer orders, the Exchange 

proposes to lower the take fee for 

Priority Customer orders of 100 or more 

contracts from $0.20 per contract to 

$0.12 per contract while increasing the 

take fee for Priority Customer orders of 

less than 100 contracts from $0.00 per 

contract to $0.12 per contract. As a 

result, all Priority Customer orders, 

regardless of size, will be assessed a take 

fee of $0.12 per contract. 

For Complex Orders, the Exchange 

currently charges a take fee of: (i) $0.27 

per contract for Market Maker, Market 

Maker Plus, Firm Proprietary and 

Customer (Professional) orders; and (ii) 

$0.35 per contract for Non-ISE Market 

Maker orders. Priority Customer orders, 

regardless of size, are not assessed a fee 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES