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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 13 (Friday, January 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3026-3027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1035]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-66155; File No. SR-Phlx-2012-01]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to 
Routing Fees

January 13, 2012.
    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 January 3, 2012, NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC (``Phlx'' or ``Exchange'') 
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 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 proposes to amend its Customer and Professional 
Routing Fees governing pricing for Exchange members using the Phlx XL 
II system,\3\ for routing standardized equity and index option Customer 
and Professional orders to the BATS Exchange, Inc. (``BATS'') for 
execution.
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    \3\ For a complete description of Phlx XL II, see Securities 
Exchange Act Release No. 59995 (May 28, 2009), 74 FR 26750 (June 3, 
2009) (SR-Phlx-2009-32). The instant proposed fees will apply only 
to option orders entered into, and routed by, the Phlx XL II system.
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    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
Web site at http://nasdaqomxphlx.cchwallstreet.com/NASDAQOMXPHLX/Filings/, at the principal office of the Exchange, on the Commission's 
Web site at http://www.sec.gov, 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 the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The purpose of the proposed rule change is to recoup costs that the 
Exchange incurs for routing and executing Customer and Professional 
orders in equity and index options to BATS. The Exchange's Fee Schedule 
includes Routing Fees for routing and executing Customer and 
Professional orders to away markets. The Exchange currently assesses a 
Customer Routing Fee of $0.36 per contract and a Professional Routing 
Fee of $0.48 per contract for option orders that are routed to BATS. 
Recently, BATS announced that it would amend its customer and 
professional fees to remove liquidity to $0.44 per contract on January 
3, 2012.\4\ The Exchange is proposing to amend its Customer and 
Professional Routing Fees to BATS to $0.50 per contract to recoup this 
fee.
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    \4\ See BATS (BZX) Exchange Fee Schedule. See also BATS Options 
Exchange Pricing Update Effective January 3, 2012 (dated December 
15, 2011).
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    In May 2009, the Exchange adopted Rule 1080(m)(iii)(A) to establish 
Nasdaq Options Services LLC (``NOS''), a member of the Exchange, as the 
Exchange's exclusive order router.\5\ NOS is utilized by the Phlx XL II 
system solely to route orders in options listed and open for trading on 
the Phlx XL II system to destination markets. Each time NOS routes to 
away markets NOS is charged a $0.06 clearing fee and, in the case of 
certain exchanges, a transaction fee is also charged in certain 
symbols, which fees are passed through to the Exchange. The Exchange is 
proposing this amendment in order to recoup clearing and transaction 
charges incurred by the Exchange when Customer and Professional orders 
are routed to BATS. The Exchange proposes to recoup the $0.44 per 
contract customer and professional taker fee for option orders that are 
routed to BATS along with the $0.06 clearing fee which

[[Page 3027]]

is incurred by the Exchange, as explained herein.
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    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59995 (May 28, 
2009), 74 FR 26750 (June 3, 2009) (SR-Phlx-2009-32).
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    As with all fees, the Exchange may adjust these Routing Fees in 
response to competitive conditions by filing a new proposed rule 
change.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposal to amend its Fee Schedule 
is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act \6\ in general, and furthers 
the objectives of Section 6(b)(4) of the Act \7\ in particular, in that 
it is an equitable allocation of reasonable fees and other charges 
among Exchange members.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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    The Exchange believes that this fee is reasonable because it seeks 
to recoup costs that are incurred by the Exchange when routing Customer 
and Professional orders to BATS on behalf of its members. Each 
destination market's transaction charge varies and there is a standard 
clearing charge for each transaction incurred by the Exchange. The 
Exchange believes that the proposed Routing Fee would enable the 
Exchange to recover the customer and professional taker fees assessed 
by BATS, plus clearing fees for the execution of Customer and 
Professional orders. The Exchange also believes that the proposed 
Routing Fee is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory because it 
would be uniformly applied to all Customers and Professionals.

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.

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

    No written comments were either solicited or 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.\8\ 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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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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 No. SR-Phlx-2012-01 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 No. SR-Phlx-2012-01. 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 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 No. SR-Phlx-2012-01 and should be 
submitted on or before February 10, 2012.
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    \9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-1035 Filed 1-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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