85824 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2020 / Notices 

21See supra note 15. 

22See supra notes 12 and 13. The Exchange states 

that Prometric has also had to close some reopened 

test centers due to incidents of COVID–19 cases. 

23See supra note 14. FINRA is considering 

making additional qualification examinations 

available remotely on a limited basis. 

24The Exchange states that Members remain 

subject to the continued requirement to supervise 

the activities of these designated individuals and 

ensure compliance with federal securities laws and 

regulations, as well as NYSE American rules. 

25See supra note 4. 

26As noted above by NYSE American, this 

proposal is an extension of temporary relief 

provided in a prior filing where NYSE American 

also requested and the Commission granted a 

waiver of the 30-day operative delay. See supra 

note 10, 85 FR at 64597. 

27For purposes only of waiving the 30-day 

operative delay, the Commission has considered the 

proposed rule change’s impact on efficiency, 

competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 

78c(f). 

28 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

extenuating circumstances of the 

COVID–19 pandemic make it 

impractical to ensure that individuals 

designated to act in these capacities are 

able to take and pass the appropriate 

qualification examination during the 

120-calendar day period required under 

the rules. The Exchange also explained 

that shelter-in-place orders, 

quarantining, restrictions on business 

and social activity and adherence to 

social distancing guidelines consistent 

with the recommendations of public 

officials remain in place in various 

states.21 In addition, the Exchange 

observed that, following a nationwide 

closure of all test centers earlier in the 

year, some test centers have re-opened, 

but are operating at limited capacity or 

are only delivering certain examinations 

that have been deemed essential by the 

local government.22 Although, as the 

Exchange noted, FINRA has launched 

an online test delivery service to help 

address this backlog, the General 

Securities Principal (Series 24) 

Examination is not available online.23

Nevertheless, the Exchange explained 

that the proposed rule change will 

provide needed flexibility to ensure that 

these positions remain filled and is 

tailored to address the constraints on 

Members’ operations during the 

COVID–19 pandemic without 

significantly compromising critical 

investor protection.24

The Commission observes that the 

Exchange’s proposal, like the FINRA 

Filing, provides only an extension to 

temporary relief from the requirement to 

pass certain qualification examinations 

within the 120-day period in the rules. 

As proposed, this relief would extend 

the 120-day period that certain 

individuals can function as principals 

through April 30, 2021. If a further 

extension of temporary relief from the 

rule requirements identified in this 

proposal beyond April 30, 2021 is 

required, the Exchange noted that it may 

submit a separate rule filing to extend 

the effectiveness of the temporary relief 

under these rules.25 For these reasons, 

the Commission believes that waiver of 

the 30-day operative delay is consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

public interest.26 Accordingly, the 

Commission hereby waives the 30-day 

operative delay and designates the 

proposal operative upon filing.27

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 email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

NYSEAMER–2020–85 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–NYSEAMER–2020–85. 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 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. 

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–NYSEAMER–2020–85 and 

should be submitted on or before 

January 19, 2021. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.28

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28661 Filed 12–28–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–90752; File No. SR–IEX– 

2020–20] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Investors Exchange LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend IEX 

Rule 2.160 (Registration Requirements 

and Restrictions on Membership) To 

Adopt Temporary Supplementary 

Material .02 (Temporary Extension of 

the Limited Period for Registered 

Persons To Function as Principals) 

Under the Rule 

December 21, 2020. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’ 

or ‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that 

on December 15, 2020, the Investors 

Exchange LLC (‘‘IEX’’ or the 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or 

‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I and II 

below, which Items have been prepared 

by the Exchange. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 


KHAMMOND on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2020 / Notices 85825 

3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

5See Exchange Act Release No. 89732 (September 

1, 2020), 85 FR 55535 (September 8, 2020) (SR– 

FINRA–2020–26); Exchange Act Release No. 90617 

(December 9, 2020), 85 FR 81258 (December 15, 

2020) (SR–FINRA–2020–43). 

6See supra note 5. 

7See Frequently Asked Questions Related to 

Regulatory Relief Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, 

available at https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/ 

key-topics/covid-19/faq. 

8See https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/keytopics/covid-19/faq#qe. 

9At the outset of the COVID–19 pandemic, all 

FINRA qualification examinations were 

administered at test centers operated by Prometric. 

Based on the health and welfare concerns resulting 

from COVID–19, in March Prometric closed all its 

test centers in the United States and Canada and 

began to slowly reopen some of them at limited 

capacity in May. At this time, not all of these 

Prometric test centers have reopened at full 

capacity. 

10FINRA Rule 1210.04 (Requirements for 

Registered Persons Functioning as Principals for a 

Limited Period) allows a member firm to designate 

certain individuals to function in a principal 

capacity for 120 calendar days before having to pass 

an appropriate principal qualification examination. 

IEX Rule 2.160(i) Supplementary Material .01 

provides the same allowance to Members. 

11See supra note 8. 

12See supra note 5. FINRA’s proposed rule 

changes also provided for a similar temporary 

extension of the limited period for persons to 

function as an Operations Professional under 

FINRA Rule 1220(b)(3)(B) to December 31, 2020, 

and later to April 30, 2021, to pass the appropriate 

qualification examination. IEX does not have 

Operations Professional as a registration category. 

13See supra note 5. 

14See, e.g., Meryl Kornfield, Jacqueline Dupree, 

Marisa Iati, Paulina Villegas, Siobhan O’Grady and 

Hamza Shaban, New daily coronavirus cases in U.S. 

rise to 145,000, latest all-time high, Wash. Post, 

November 11, 2020, https://

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/11/ 

coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/. 

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 

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 

19(b)(1) under the Act,3 and Rule 19b– 

4 thereunder,4 IEX is filing with the 

Commission a proposed rule change to 

amend IEX Rule 2.160 (Registration 

Requirements and Restrictions on 

Membership) to adopt temporary 

Supplementary Material .02 (Temporary 

Extension of the Limited Period for 

Registered Persons to Function as 

Principals) under paragraph (i) of the 

Rule. The proposed rule change would 

harmonize the IEX Rule with a 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) rule 

amendment that extended the 120-day 

period during which certain individuals 

can function as a principal without 

having successfully passed an 

appropriate qualifying examination, 

through April 30, 2021.5

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available at the Exchange’s website at 

www.iextrading.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 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

Currently, IEX Rule 2.160(i), 

Supplementary Material .01 provides, 

inter alia, that an IEX Member 

(‘‘Member’’) may designate any person 

currently registered, or who becomes 

registered with the Member as a 

representative to function as a principal 

for 120 calendar days prior to passing an 

appropriate principal qualification 

examination and that, in no event, may 

such person function as a principal 

beyond the initial 120 calendar day 

period without having passed an 

appropriate principal qualifying 

examination. 

The Exchange is proposing to amend 

IEX Rule 2.160(i) to adopt 

Supplementary Material .02 (Temporary 

Extension of the Limited Period for 

Registered Persons to Function as 

Principals). Under the proposed 

amendment, a person designated to 

function as a principal prior to January 

1, 2021 may continue to function as a 

principal without having successfully 

passed an appropriate qualifying 

examination until April 30, 2021. The 

proposed amendment will align IEX’s 

rule with FINRA Rule 1210, which was 

recently amended to provide the same 

temporary extension for principals due 

to the continuing impact of the COVID– 

19 pandemic.6 FINRA performs certain 

functions related to the qualification, 

registration and continuing education 

requirements for registered persons 

pursuant to a regulatory services 

agreement with the Exchange. 

In response to COVID–19, earlier this 

year FINRA began providing temporary 

relief to member firms from FINRA rules 

and requirements via frequently asked 

questions (‘‘FAQs’’) on its website.7

Two of these FAQs 8 provided 

temporary relief to address disruptions 

to the administration of FINRA 

qualification examinations caused by 

the pandemic that have significantly 

limited the ability of individuals to sit 

for these examinations due to Prometric 

test center capacity issues.9

FINRA published the first FAQ on 

March 20, 2020, providing that 

individuals whom were designated to 

function as principals under FINRA 

Rule 1210.04 prior to February 2, 2020, 

would be given until May 31, 2020, to 

pass the appropriate principal 

qualification examination.10 On May 19, 

2020, FINRA extended the relief to pass 

the appropriate examination until June 

30, 2020. On June 29, 2020, FINRA 

again extended the temporary relief 

providing that individuals who were 

designated to function as principals 

under FINRA Rule 1210.04 prior to May 

4, 2020, would be given until August 31, 

2020, to pass the appropriate principal 

qualification examination.11

On August 28, 2020, FINRA filed with 

the Commission a proposed rule change 

for immediate effectiveness to extend 

the temporary relief provided via the 

two FAQs by adopting temporary 

Supplementary Material .12 (Temporary 

Extension of the Limited Period for 

Registered Persons to Function as 

Principals) under FINRA Rule 1210 

(Registration Requirements).12 Pursuant 

to this rule filing, individuals who were 

designated prior to September 3, 2020, 

to function as a principal under FINRA 

Rule 1210.04 would have until 

December 31, 2020, to pass the 

appropriate qualification examination. 

Thereafter, on December 9, 2020, 

FINRA filed with the Commission a 

proposed rule change for immediate 

effectiveness to extend the limited 

period for registered persons to function 

as a principal through April 30, 2021.13

Pursuant to this rule filing, individuals 

who were designated prior to January 1, 

2021 to function as a principal would 

have until April 30, 2021 to pass the 

appropriate qualifying examination. 

The Exchange continues to closely 

monitor the impact of the COVID–19 

pandemic on Members, investors, and 

other stakeholders. The COVID–19 

conditions necessitating the extension 

of relief provided in FINRA’s FAQs and 

rule amendments persist and, in fact, 

appear to be worsening.14 One of the 

impacts of COVID–19 continues to be 

serious interruptions in the 

administration of FINRA qualification 

examinations at Prometric test centers 


KHAMMOND on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
85826 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2020 / Notices 

15 Information about the continued impact of 

COVID–19 on FINRA-administered examinations is 

available at https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/ 

key-topics/covid-19/exams. 

16 Information from Prometric about its safety 

practices and the impact of COVID- 19 on its 

operations is available at https://

www.prometric.com/corona-virus-update. 

17Although an online test delivery service has 

been launched to help address the backlog, the 

General Securities Principal Exam (Series 24) is not 

available online. See supra note 12. FINRA is 

considering making additional qualifications 

examinations available remotely on a limited basis. 

18See, e.g., Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, How to Protect Yourself & Others, 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ 

prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html. 

19 If IEX seeks to provide additional temporary 

relief from the rule requirements identified in this 

proposed rule change beyond April 30, 2021, IEX 

will submit a separate rule filing to further extend 

the temporary extension of time. 

20 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

21 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

and the limited ability of individuals to 

sit for the examinations.15 Although 

Prometric has begun reopening test 

centers, Prometric’s safety practices 

mean that currently not all test centers 

are open, some of the open test centers 

are at limited capacity, and some open 

test centers are delivering only certain 

examinations that have been deemed 

essential by the local government.16

Furthermore, Prometric has had to close 

some reopened test centers due to 

incidents of COVID–19 cases. The initial 

nationwide closure in March along with 

the inability to fully reopen all 

Prometric test centers due to COVID–19 

have led to a significant backlog of 

individuals who are waiting to sit for 

FINRA examinations.17 In addition, 

Members are continuing to experience 

operational challenges with much of 

their personnel working from home due 

to shelter-in-place orders, restrictions on 

businesses and social activity imposed 

in various states, and adherence to other 

social distancing guidelines consistent 

with the recommendations of public 

health officials.18

As a result, Members continue to face 

potentially significant disruptions to 

their normal business operations that 

may include a limitation of in-person 

activities and staff absenteeism as a 

result of the health and welfare 

concerns stemming from COVID–19. 

Such potential disruptions may be 

further exacerbated and may even affect 

client services if Members cannot 

continue to keep principal positions 

filled as they may have difficulty 

finding other qualified individuals to 

transition into these roles or may need 

to reallocate employee time and 

resources away from other critical 

responsibilities at the Member. 

These ongoing, extenuating 

circumstances make it impracticable for 

Members to ensure that the individuals 

whom they have designated to function 

as a principal as set forth in IEX Rule 

2.160(i) are able to successfully sit for 

and pass an appropriate qualification 

examination within the 120-calendar 

day period required by Supplementary 

Material .01 under Rule 2.160(i), or to 

find other qualified staff to fill these 

positions. The ongoing circumstances 

also require individuals to be exposed to 

the health risks associated with taking 

an in-person examination, because the 

General Securities Principal 

examination is not available online. 

Therefore, IEX is proposing to extend 

the 120-day period during which an 

individual can function as a principal 

before having to pass an applicable 

qualification examination until April 

30, 2021.19 The proposed rule change 

would apply only to those individuals 

who were designated to function as a 

principal prior to January 1, 2021. Any 

individuals designated to function as a 

principal on or after January 1, 2021 

would need to successfully pass an 

appropriate qualification examination 

within 120 days. 

The Exchange believes that this 

proposed extension of time is tailored to 

address the needs and constraints on a 

Member’s operations during the 

COVID–19 pandemic, without 

significantly compromising critical 

investor protection. The proposed 

extension of time will help to minimize 

the impact of COVID–19 on Members by 

providing continued flexibility so that 

Members can ensure that principal 

positions remain filled. The potential 

risks from the proposed extension of the 

120-day period are mitigated by the 

ongoing requirement that Members 

supervise the activities of these 

designated individuals and ensure 

compliance with federal securities laws 

and regulations, as well as IEX Rules. 

As noted below, IEX has filed the 

proposed rule change for immediate 

effectiveness and has requested that the 

SEC waive the requirement that the 

proposed rule change not become 

operative for 30 days after the date of 

the filing, so IEX can implement the 

proposed rule change immediately. 

2. Statutory Basis 

IEX believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the provisions 

of Section 6(b) 20 of the Act in general, 

and furthers the objectives of Section 

6(b)(5) of the Act 21 in particular, in that 

it is designed to prevent fraudulent and 

manipulative acts and practices, to 

promote just and equitable principles of 

trade, to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and, in general, to protect 

investors and the public interest by 

harmonizing the Exchange’s registration 

rules with those of FINRA, on which 

they are based. Consequently, the 

proposed change will conform the 

Exchange’s rules to changes made to 

corresponding FINRA rules, thus 

promoting application of consistent 

regulatory standards with respect to 

rules that FINRA enforces pursuant to 

its regulatory services agreement with 

the Exchange. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

IEX does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will result in any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. The 

proposed rule change is not designed to 

address any competitive issue but to 

align the Exchange’s rules with those of 

FINRA, which will assist FINRA in its 

oversight work done pursuant to a 

regulatory services agreement with IEX. 

The proposed rule change will also 

provide for consistent application of the 

Exchange’s registration rules with those 

of FINRA, on which they are based. The 

Exchange believes that the proposed 

rule change is necessary to temporarily 

rebalance the attendant benefits and 

costs of the obligations under Rule 2.160 

in response to the impacts of the 

COVID–19 pandemic that would 

otherwise result if the temporary rule 

amendment was not adopted. 

Consequently, the Exchange believes 

that the proposed temporary relief 

afforded by the proposed rule change 

and the benefit of harmonizing the 

Exchange’s registration and 

qualification rules with those of FINRA 

does not present 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 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: (i) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) become 

operative for 30 days from the date on 

which it was filed, or such shorter time 

as the Commission may designate, it has 


KHAMMOND on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2020 / Notices 85827 

22 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 23 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6)(iii) requires a self-regulatory organization to 

give the Commission written notice of its intent to 

file the proposed rule change, along with a brief 

description and text of the proposed rule change, 

at least five business days prior to the date of filing 

of the proposed rule change, or such shorter time 

as designated by the Commission. The Exchange 

has satisfied this requirement. 24See supra note 18. 25See supra notes 15 and 16. The Exchange states 

that Prometric has also had to close some reopened 

test centers due to incidents of COVID–19 cases. 26See supra note 17. FINRA is considering 

making additional qualification examinations 

available remotely on a limited basis. 

27The Exchange states that Members remain 

subject to the continued requirement to supervise 

the activities of these designated individuals and 

ensure compliance with federal securities laws and 

regulations, as well as IEX rules. 

28See supra note 19. 

29As noted above by the Exchange, this proposed 

temporary change is based on a recent filing by 

FINRA that the Commission approved with a 

waiver of the 30-day operative delay. See supra 

note 5, 85 FR at 81260. 

30For purposes only of waiving the 30-day 

operative delay, the Commission has considered the 

proposed rule change’s impact on efficiency, 

competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 

78c(f). 31 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

become effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 22 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) thereunder.23

A proposed rule change filed under 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) normally does not 

become operative for 30 days after the 

date of filing. However, pursuant to 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii), the Commission 

may designate a shorter time if such 

action is consistent with the protection 

of investors and the public interest. The 

Exchange has asked the Commission to 

waive the 30-day operative delay so that 

the proposed rule change may become 

operative immediately upon filing. As 

noted above, the Exchange stated that 

the proposed extension of time will help 

minimize the impact of the COVID–19 

outbreak on Members’ operations by 

allowing them to keep principal 

positions filled and minimizing 

disruptions to client services and other 

critical responsibilities. The Exchange 

further stated that the ongoing 

extenuating circumstances of the 

COVID–19 pandemic make it 

impractical to ensure that individuals 

designated to act in these capacities are 

able to take and pass the appropriate 

qualification examination during the 

120-calendar day period required under 

the rules. The Exchange also explained 

that shelter-in-place orders, 

quarantining, restrictions on business 

and social activity and adherence to 

social distancing guidelines consistent 

with the recommendations of public 

officials remain in place in various 

states.24 In addition, the Exchange 

observed that, following a nationwide 

closure of all test centers earlier in the 

year, some test centers have re-opened, 

but are operating at limited capacity or 

are only delivering certain examinations 

that have been deemed essential by the 

local government.25 Although, as the 

Exchange noted, FINRA has launched 

an online test delivery service to help 

address this backlog, the General 

Securities Principal (Series 24) 

Examination is not available online.26

Nevertheless, the Exchange explained 

that the proposed rule change will 

provide needed flexibility to ensure that 

these positions remain filled and is 

tailored to address the constraints on 

Members’ operations during the 

COVID–19 pandemic without 

significantly compromising critical 

investor protection.27

The Commission observed that the 

Exchange’s proposal, like FINRA’s 

analogous filing, provides only 

temporary relief from the requirement to 

pass certain qualification examinations 

within the 120-day period in the rules. 

As proposed, this relief would extend 

the 120-day period that certain 

individuals can function as principals 

through April 30, 2021. If a further 

extension of temporary relief from the 

rule requirements identified in this 

proposal beyond April 30, 2021 is 

required, the Exchange noted that it may 

submit a separate rule filing to extend 

the effectiveness of the temporary relief 

under these rules.28 For these reasons, 

the Commission believes that waiver of 

the 30-day operative delay is consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

public interest.29 Accordingly, the 

Commission hereby waives the 30-day 

operative delay and designates the 

proposal operative upon filing.30

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 email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

IEX–2020–20 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–IEX–2020–20. 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 such 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of IEX. 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–IEX–2020–20 and should 

be submitted on or before January 19, 

2021. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.31

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28658 Filed 12–28–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 


KHAMMOND on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES