Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2011 / Notices 15025 

143Wells Fargo. 

144Mutual Trust. 

145Wellington. 

146 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The purpose of Amendment No. 1 was to (i) 

remove the proposal to waive PAR Official Fees for 

February 2011 from the filing; and (ii) provide 

additional details for the statutory basis for waiving 

the fees in all classes except Volatility Index 

Options for March 2011. 

One commenter suggested a 180-day 

grace period.143

Based on the comments, FINRA has 

amended the transition period that was 

proposed in the Notice. As further 

detailed in Section F. above, FINRA is 

proposing a 60-day identification period 

beginning on the effective date of the 

proposed rule change during which 

Day-One Professionals must request 

registration as an Operations 

Professional via Form U4 in CRD. DayOne Professionals who are identified 

during the 60-day period and must pass 

the Operations Professional examination 

(or an eligible qualification 

examination) would be granted 12 

months beginning on the effective date 

of the proposed rule change to pass such 

qualifying examination, during which 

time such persons may function as an 

Operations Professional. 

With respect to non-Day-One 

Professionals, any person associated 

with a clearing or self-clearing member 

must register as an Operations 

Professional and, if applicable, pass the 

Operations Professional qualification 

examination (or an eligible qualification 

examination) prior to engaging in any 

activities that would require such 

registration. Any non-Day-One 

Professional associated with a nonclearing member who must pass the 

Operations Professional qualification 

examination (or an eligible qualification 

examination) to obtain registration 

would be granted a grace period of 120 

days beginning on the date such person 

requests Operations Professional 

registration via Form U4 in CRD to pass 

such qualifying examination, during 

which time such person may function as 

an Operations Professional. 

Two commenters expressed 

sentiments regarding their general 

disagreement with FINRA spending 144

and the current regulatory structure for 

broker-dealers.145 These comments are 

outside the scope of the proposed rule 

change. 

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

Number SR–FINRA–2011–013 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–FINRA–2011–013. 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, 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–2011–013 and 

should be submitted on or before April 

8, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.146

Cathy H. Ahn, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–6315 Filed 3–17–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–64070; File No. SR–CBOE– 

2011–022] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Chicago Board Options Exchange, 

Incorporated: Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change, as Modified by 

Amendment No. 1 Thereto, Relating to 

PAR Official Fees 

March 11, 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 March 1, 

2011, Chicago Board Options Exchange, 

Incorporated (‘‘CBOE’’ or the 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I and II 

below, which Items have been prepared 

by CBOE. On March 9, 2011, CBOE filed 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 

change.3 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 

Chicago Board Options Exchange, 

Incorporated (‘‘CBOE’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

proposes to amend its Fees Schedule to 

(i) establish separate PAR Official Fees 

for Volatility Index Options that are 

consistent with the Floor Brokerage Fees 

assessed in Volatility Index Options, 

and (ii) waive PAR Official Fees for all 

classes except Volatility Index Options 

for March 2011. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available on the 

Exchange’s Web site (http:// 

www.cboe.org/legal), at the Exchange’s 

Office of the Secretary and at the 

Commission. 


Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
15026 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2011 / Notices 

4A PAR Official is an Exchange employee or 

independent contractor whom the Exchange may 

designate as being responsible for (i) operating the 

PAR workstation in a Designated Primary MarketMaker trading crowd with respect to the classes of 

options assigned to him/her; (ii) when applicable, 

maintaining the book with respect to the classes of 

options assigned to him/her; and (iii) effecting 

proper executions of orders placed with him/her. 

The PAR Official may not be affiliated with any 

Trading Permit Holder that is approved to act as a 

Market-Maker. See CBOE Rule 7.12. 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67301 

(January 11, 2011), 76 FR 2934 (January 18, 2011) 

(SR–CBOE–2010–116). 

6PAR Official Fees and Floor Brokerage Fees for 

cross orders are assessed at a discounted rate 

because these Fees are assessed ‘‘per side’’ and thus, 

these fees are equal to the amount assessed for one 

standard (non-cross) order. 

7 In accordance with Footnote 5 of the CBOE Fees 

Schedule, Floor Brokerage Fees are charged to the 

executing broker. If a Market-Maker executes an 

order for an account in which the Market-Maker is 

not a registered participant as reflected in the TPH 

Department records, the Market-Maker will be 

assessed a floor brokerage fee. To be eligible for the 

discounted ‘‘crossed’’ rate, the executing broker 

acronym and executing firm number must be the 

same on both the buy and sell side of an order. 

Floor Brokerage Fees are not assessed to orders 

effected by a PAR Official. 

8 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

11 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

CBOE 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. CBOE 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 

CBOE is proposing to amend its Fees 

Schedule effective March 1, 2011 to 

establish separate PAR Official Fees for 

Volatility Index Options that are 

consistent with the Floor Brokerage Fees 

assessed in Volatility Index Options. 

CBOE amended its Fees Schedule to 

establish PAR Official 4 Fees in January 

2011.5 These fees apply to all orders 

executed by a PAR Official in all 

options classes traded at CBOE, except 

for customer orders (‘‘C’’ origin code) 

that are not directly routed to the 

trading floor (an order that is directly 

routed to the trading floor is directed to 

a PAR Official for manual handling by 

use of a field on the order ticket). Such 

orders are charged $.02 per contract 

and, like floor brokerage fees, a 

discounted rate of $.01 per contract 

applies for crossed orders.6 These fees 

help to offset the Exchange’s costs of 

providing PAR Official services (e.g., 

salaries, etc). 

CBOE is proposing to add language 

that would assess distinct PAR Official 

Fees for orders in Volatility Index 

Options. Specifically, CBOE is 

proposing to assess PAR Official Fees in 

Volatility Index Options in the amount 

of $.03 per contract for standard (noncross) orders and $.015 per contract for 

all cross orders (per side). CBOE only 

assesses Floor Brokerage Fees 7 for 

brokerage activity in its proprietary 

products, including SPX, OEX and 

Volatility Index Options. Floor 

Brokerage Fees in Volatility Index 

Options are assessed in the amount of 

$.03 per contract for standard (noncross) orders and $.015 per contract for 

all cross orders (per side). A PAR 

Official is available to execute orders in 

Volatility Index Options. Because both 

Floor Brokerage Fees and PAR Official 

Fees are assessed in Volatility Index 

Options, there is an incentive to Floor 

Brokers to route orders in Volatility 

Index Options to a PAR Official due to 

the disparity that exists between the 

amounts assessed for Floor Brokerage 

Fees and PAR Official Fees. As the PAR 

Official Fees are currently less than the 

Floor Brokerage Fees that are assessed 

in Volatility Index Options, CBOE is 

proposing to make this change to 

eliminate the incentive for Floor Brokers 

to rely on PAR Officials to execute their 

business at a lower cost through a PAR 

Official in Volatility Index Options. 

The issue described above with 

respect to Volatility Index Options does 

not apply to OEX and SPX because there 

are no PAR Officials available to execute 

orders in the OEX and SPX trading 

crowds. Furthermore, this disparity 

does not exist in other classes traded at 

the Exchange because there are no Floor 

Brokerage Fees assessed in classes other 

than OEX, SPX and Volatility Index 

Options. 

CBOE is continuing to evaluate the 

existing structure of PAR Official Fees 

and is considering additional changes in 

the manner in which it assesses PAR 

Official Fees. For this reason, CBOE 

proposes to waive the PAR Official Fees 

in all classes except for Volatility Index 

Options for March 2011. CBOE is 

proposing to assess the PAR Official 

Fees in Volatility Index Options in 

March 2011 to eliminate the disparity 

between the PAR Official Fees and Floor 

Brokerage Fees as described above. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with Section 

6(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934 (‘‘Act’’),8 in general, and furthers 

the objectives of Section 6(b)(4) 9 of the 

Act in particular, in that it is designed 

to provide for the equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues, fees, and other charges 

among its trading permit holders and 

other persons using its facilities. The 

Exchange believes the proposed change 

is equitable, reasonable and not unfairly 

discriminatory, in that the PAR Official 

Fees and the Floor Brokerage Fees will 

be assessed in the same manner to all 

order originating firms for orders 

executed in Volatility Index Options. 

Further, CBOE believes the proposed 

waiver of PAR Official Fees for March 

2011 is equitable, reasonable and not 

unfairly discriminatory, in that it will 

apply to all order originating firms in all 

classes except Volatility Index Options 

as CBOE continues to evaluate the 

existing structure of PAR Official Fees 

and is considering additional changes in 

the manner in which it assesses PAR 

Official Fees. CBOE believes it would be 

appropriate to exclude PAR Official 

Fees in Volatility Index Options from 

the fee waiver as a waiver of these fees 

would perpetuate the disparity between 

PAR Official Fees and Floor Brokerage 

Fees in Volatility Index Options that 

this proposal is otherwise seeking to 

eliminate. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

CBOE does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will impose any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of purposes of at the Act. 

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 has become 

effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act 10 and subparagraph (f)(2) of 

Rule 19b–4 11 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 


Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2011 / Notices 15027 

12For purposes of calculating the 60-day period 

within which the Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change under 

Section 19(b)(3)(C) of the Act, the Commission 

considers the period to commence on March 9, 

2011, the date on which the Exchange submitted 

Amendment No. 1. See 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(C). 13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1The 60-day notice included the following 

estimate of the aggregate burden hours for this 

generic clearance federal-wide: 

Average Expected Annual Number of activities: 

25,000. 

Average number of Respondents per Activity: 

200. 

Annual responses: 5,000,000. 

Frequency of Response: Once per request. 

Continued 

interest, for the protection of investors, 

or otherwise in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act.12

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–CBOE–2011–022 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–CBOE–2011–022. 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, 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–CBOE– 

2011–022 and should be submitted on 

or before April 8, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.13

Cathy H. Ahn, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–6301 Filed 3–17–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request; Generic Clearance 

for the Collection of Qualitative 

Feedback on Agency Service Delivery 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration 

(SSA). 

ACTION: 30-day notice of submission of 

information collection approval from 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: As part of a Federal 

Government-wide effort to streamline 

the process to seek feedback from the 

public on service delivery, the SSA has 

submitted a Generic Information 

Collection Request (Generic ICR): 

‘‘Generic Clearance for the Collection of 

Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 

Delivery’’ to OMB for approval under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.). 

Your comments would be most useful 

if OMB and SSA receive them within 30 

days from the date of this publication. 

To be sure we consider your comments, 

we must receive them no later than 

April 18, 2011. Mail, email, or fax your 

comments and recommendations to the 

OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports 

Clearance Officer at the following 

addresses or fax numbers. 

(OMB), Office of Management and 

Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax: 

202–395–6974, E-mail address: 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. 

(SSA), Social Security 

Administration, DCBFM, Attn: Reports 

Clearance Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 

6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 

21235, Fax: 410–965–6400, E-mail 

address: OPLM.RCO@ssa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Generic Clearance for the 

Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 

Agency Service Delivery. 

Abstract: The information collection 

activity will garner qualitative customer 

and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 

timely manner, in accordance with 

SSA’s commitment to improving service 

delivery. By qualitative feedback, we 

mean information that provides useful 

insights on perceptions and opinions, 

but are not statistical surveys that yield 

quantitative results that can be 

generalized to the population of study. 

This feedback will provide insights into 

customer or stakeholder perceptions, 

experiences and expectations, provide 

an early warning of issues with service, 

or focus attention on areas where 

communication, training, or changes in 

operations might improve delivery of 

products or services. These collections 

will allow for ongoing, collaborative, 

and actionable communications 

between the agency and its customers 

and stakeholders. It will also allow 

feedback to contribute directly to the 

improvement of program management. 

Feedback we collect under this 

generic clearance will provide useful 

information, but it will not yield data 

that we can generalize to the overall 

population. We will not use this type of 

generic clearance (qualitative 

information) for quantitative 

information collections designed to 

yield reliably actionable results, such as 

monitoring trends over time or 

documenting program performance. 

Such data uses require more rigorous 

designs that address the target 

population to which generalizations 

will be made, the sampling frame, the 

sample design (including stratification 

and clustering), the precision 

requirements or power calculations that 

justify the proposed sample size, the 

expected response rate, methods for 

assessing potential non-response bias, 

the protocols for data collection, and 

any testing procedures that were or will 

be undertaken prior to fielding the 

study. Depending on the degree of 

influence the results are likely to have, 

such collections may still be eligible for 

submission for other generic 

mechanisms designed to yield 

quantitative results. 

The agency received no comments in 

response to the 60-day notice published 

in the Federal Register of December 22, 

2010 (75 FR 80542). 

Below we provide SSA’s projected 

average estimates for the next three 

years: 1


Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES