86600 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 30, 2020 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 If the Exchange seeks to provide additional 

temporary relief from the rule requirements 

identified in this proposed rule change beyond 

April 30, 2021, the Exchange will submit a separate 

rule filing to further extend the temporary extension 

of time. 

4See Exchange Act Release No. 89732 (September 

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

FINRA–2020–026) and Exchange Act Release No. 

90617 (December 9, 2020), 85 FR 81258 (December 

15, 2020) (SR–FINRA–2020–043) (collectively, the 

‘‘FINRA Filings’’). The Exchange notes that the 

FINRA Filings also provide temporary relief to 

individuals registered with FINRA as Operations 

Professionals under FINRA Rule 1220. The 

Exchange does not have a registration category for 

Operations Professionals and therefore, the 

Exchange is not proposing to adopt that aspect of 

the FINRA Filings. 

5See https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/keytopics/covid-19/faq#qe. 

is soliciting comments on the collection 

of information summarized below. The 

Commission plans to submit this 

existing collection of information to the 

Office of Management and Budget for 

extension and approval. 

Form ID (OMB Control No. 3235– 

0328) must be completed and filed with 

the Commission by all individuals, 

companies, and other organizations who 

seek access to file electronically on the 

Commission’s primary electronic filing 

system, EDGAR. Those seeking access to 

file on EDGAR typically include those 

who are required to make certain 

disclosures pursuant to the federal 

securities laws. The information 

provided on Form ID is an essential part 

of the security of EDGAR. Form ID is a 

not a public document because it is 

used solely for the purpose of screening 

applicants and granting access to 

EDGAR. Form ID must be submitted 

whenever an applicant seeks an EDGAR 

identification number and access codes 

to file on EDGAR. The Commission may 

consider enhancing the EDGAR access 

process to require filers that already 

have EDGAR identification numbers but 

do not have EDGAR access codes to 

submit a Form ID to obtain access codes 

to file on EDGAR. If these enhancements 

become effective, we estimate that 

approximately 48,493 filers will file 

Form ID annually and that it will take 

approximately 0.15 hours per response 

to prepare for a total of 7,274 annual 

burden hours. The estimate includes the 

number of filers without identification 

numbers and filers with identification 

numbers that seek to obtain access 

codes for purposes of submitting 

electronic filings on EDGAR. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid 

control number. 

Written comments are invited on: (i) 

Whether this proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(ii) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden imposed by the collection 

of information; (iii) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collected; and (iv) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. Consideration will be given 

to comments and suggestions submitted 

in writing within 60 days of this 

publication. 

Please direct your written comments 

to David Bottom, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Cynthia 

Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: December 23, 2020. 

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28831 Filed 12–29–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–90780; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2020–091] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

a Proposed Rule Change To Extend 

the Effective Date of the Temporary 

Amendments Concerning Exchange 

Rule 1.1210 From December 31, 2020, 

to April 30, 2021 

December 22, 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 17, 2020, The Nasdaq 

Stock Market LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’ or 

‘‘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 

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 extend the 

effective date of the temporary 

amendments set forth in SR–NASDAQ– 

2020–073 from December 31, 2020, to 

April 30, 2021. Due to the impacts of 

COVID–19 on the administration of the 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) qualification 

examinations at test centers, SR– 

NASDAQ–2020–073 extended the 120- 

day period that certain individuals can 

function as a principal without having 

successfully passed an appropriate 

qualification examination through 

December 31, 2020. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/ 

rulebook/nasdaq/rules, 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 

The Exchange proposes to extend the 

effective date of the temporary 

amendments set forth in SR–NASDAQ– 

2020–073 from December 31, 2020, to 

April 30, 2021. The proposed rule 

change would extend the 120-day 

period that certain individuals can 

function as a principal without having 

successfully passed an appropriate 

qualification examination through April 

30, 2021,3 and would apply only to 

those individuals who were designated 

to function as a principal prior to 

January 1, 2021. This proposed rule 

change is based on filings recently 

submitted by FINRA 4 and is intended to 

harmonize the Exchange’s registration 

rules with those of FINRA so as to 

promote uniform standards across the 

securities industry. 

In response to COVID–19, earlier this 

year FINRA began providing temporary 

relief by way of frequently asked 

questions (‘‘FAQs’’) 5 to address 

disruptions to the administration of 

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 30, 2020 / Notices 86601 

6At 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 of 

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. 

7Exchange Rule 1.1210.04 is the corresponding 

rule to FINRA Rule 1210.04. 8FINRA 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. 

Exchange Rule 1.1210.04 provides the same 

allowance to members. 

9See Exchange Act Release No. 90359 (November 

5, 2020), 85 FR 71979 (November 12, 2020) (Notice 

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of File No. 

SR–NASDAQ–2020–073). 

10See, 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/. 

11 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. 

12 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. See also 

supra note 11. 

13Earlier this year, an online test delivery service 

was launched for candidates seeking to take 

qualification examinations remotely. Only certain 

qualification examinations are available online. See 

supra note 11. FINRA is considering making 

additional qualification examinations available 

remotely on a limited basis. 

14See, 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. 

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

16 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

FINRA qualification examinations 

caused by the pandemic that have 

significantly limited the ability of 

individuals to sit for examinations due 

to Prometric test center capacity issues.6

FINRA published the first FAQ on 

March 20, 2020, providing that 

individuals who were designated to 

function as principals under FINRA 

Rule 1210.04 7 prior to February 2, 2020, 

would be given until May 31, 2020, to 

pass the appropriate principal 

qualification examination.8 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. 

On October 29, 2020, the Exchange 

filed with the Commission a proposed 

rule change for immediate effectiveness 

to adopt temporary Supplementary 

Material .13 (Temporary Extension of 

the Limited Period for Registered 

Persons to Function as Principals) under 

Exchange Rule 1.1210 of General 4 

(Registration Requirements).9 Pursuant 

to this rule filing, individuals who were 

designated prior to September 3, 2020, 

to function as a principal under 

Exchange Rule 1.1210.04 have until 

December 31, 2020, to pass the 

appropriate qualification examination. 

The COVID–19 conditions 

necessitating the extension of relief 

provided in SR–NASDAQ–2020–073 

persist and in fact appear to be 

worsening.10 One of the impacts of 

COVID–19 continues to be serious 

interruptions in the administration of 

FINRA qualification examinations at 

Prometric test centers and the limited 

ability of individuals to sit for the 

examinations.11 Although Prometric has 

been reopening its 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.12

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 that are not 

available online.13

In addition, firms 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.14 As a result, firms 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 firms 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 firm. 

These ongoing, extenuating 

circumstances make it impracticable for 

members to ensure that the individuals 

whom they have designated to function 

in a principal capacity, as set forth in 

Exchange Rule 1.1210.04, are able to 

successfully sit for and pass an 

appropriate qualification examination 

within the 120-calendar day period 

required under the rule, or to find other 

qualified staff to fill this position. The 

ongoing circumstances also require 

individuals to be exposed to the health 

risks associated with taking an inperson examination, because the 

General Securities Principal 

examination is not available online. 

Therefore, the Exchange is proposing to 

extend the effective date of the 

temporary relief provided through SR– 

NASDAQ–2020–073 until April 30, 

2021. 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 continued 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 member’s continued 

requirement to supervise the activities 

of these designated individuals and 

ensure compliance with federal 

securities laws and regulations, as well 

as Exchange rules. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,15 in general, and furthers the 

objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,16

in particular, because it is designed to 

prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, to foster 

cooperation and coordination with 

persons engaged in facilitating 

transactions in securities, to remove 

impediments to, and perfect the 

mechanism of, a free and open market 

and a national market system and, in 

86602 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 30, 2020 / Notices 

17See supra note 4. 

18 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

19 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. 

20See supra note 14. 

21See supra notes 11 and 12. The Exchange states 

that Prometric has also had to close some reopened 

test centers due to incidents of COVID–19 cases. 

22See supra note 13. FINRA is considering 

making additional qualification examinations 

available remotely on a limited basis. 

23The 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 Nasdaq rules. 

24See supra note 4. 

25See supra note 3. 

26As noted above by Nasdaq, this proposal is an 

extension of temporary relief provided in a prior 

filing where Nasdaq also requested and the 

Commission granted a waiver of the 30-day 

operative delay. See supra note 9, 85 FR at 71981– 

82. 

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). 

general, to protect investors and the 

public interest. 

The proposed rule change is intended 

to minimize the impact of COVID–19 on 

member operations by further extending 

the 120-day period certain individuals 

may function as a principal without 

having successfully passed an 

appropriate qualification examination 

under Exchange Rule 1.1210.04 until 

April 30, 2021. The proposed rule 

change does not relieve members from 

maintaining, under the circumstances, a 

reasonably designed system to supervise 

the activities of their associated persons 

to achieve compliance with applicable 

securities laws and regulations, and 

with applicable Exchange rules that 

directly serve investor protection. In a 

time when faced with unique challenges 

resulting from the COVID–19 pandemic, 

the Exchange believes that the proposed 

rule change is a sensible 

accommodation that will continue to 

afford members the ability to ensure that 

critical positions are filled and client 

services maintained, while continuing 

to serve and promote the protection of 

investors and the public interest in this 

unique environment. 

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 that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. As set forth 

in SR–NASDAQ–2020–073, the 

proposed rule change is intended to 

provide temporary relief given the 

impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic 

crisis and to also maintain consistency 

with the rules of other self-regulatory 

organizations (‘‘SROs’’) with respect to 

the registration requirements applicable 

to members and their registered 

personnel. In that regard, the Exchange 

believes that any burden on competition 

would be clearly outweighed by 

providing members with temporary 

relief in this unique environment while 

also ensuring clear and consistent 

requirements applicable across SROs 

and mitigating any risk of SROs 

implementing different standards in 

these important areas. In its filing, 

FINRA provides an abbreviated 

economic impact assessment 

maintaining that the changes are 

necessary to temporarily rebalance the 

attendant benefits and costs of the 

obligations under FINRA Rule 1210 in 

response to the impacts of the COVID– 

19 pandemic that is equally applicable 

to the changes the Exchange proposes.17

The Exchange accordingly incorporates 

FINRA’s abbreviated economic impact 

assessment by reference. 

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 

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 

become effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 18 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) thereunder.19

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.20 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.21 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.22

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.23

The Commission observes that the 

Exchange’s proposal, like the FINRA 

Filings on which it is based,24 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

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 30, 2020 / Notices 86603 

28 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Unless otherwise specified, capitalized terms 

used in this rule filing are defined as set forth in 

the Compliance Rule. 

4See Securities Exchange Act Rel. No. 90223 

(October 19, 2020), 85 FR 67576 (October 23, 2020) 

(‘‘Allocation Exemptive Order’’). 

5Section 1.1 of the CAT NMS Plan defines an 

‘‘Allocation Report’’ as ‘‘a report made to the 

Central Repository by an Industry Member that 

identifies the Firm Designated ID for any account(s), 

including subaccount(s), to which executed shares 

are allocated and provides the security that has 

been allocated, the identifier of the firm reporting 

the allocation, the price per share of shares 

allocated, the side of shares allocated, the number 

of shares allocated to each account, and the time of 

the allocation; provided for the avoidance of doubt, 

any such Allocation Report shall not be required to 

be linked to particular orders or executions.’’ 

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– 

NASDAQ–2020–091 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–NASDAQ–2020–091. 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 Nasdaq. 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– 

NASDAQ–2020–091 and should be 

submitted on or before January 21, 2021. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.28

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28808 Filed 12–29–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–90798; File No. SR–BOX– 

2020–40] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX 

Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the Rule 16000 

Series 

December 23, 2020. 

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 December 

15, 2020, BOX Exchange LLC (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 the self-regulatory 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 the 

Rule 16000 Series, the Exchange’s 

compliance rule (‘‘Compliance Rule’’) 

regarding the National Market System 

Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit 

Trail (the ‘‘CAT NMS Plan’’ or ‘‘Plan’’) 3

to be consistent with a conditional 

exemption granted by the Commission 

from certain allocation reporting 

requirements set forth in Sections 

6.4(d)(ii)(A)(1) and (2) of the CAT NMS 

Plan (‘‘Allocation Exemption’’).4 The 

text of the proposed rule change is 

available from the principal office of the 

Exchange, at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room and also on the 

Exchange’s internet website at http://

boxoptions.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. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The purpose of this proposed rule 

change is to amend the Rule 16000 

Series to be consistent with the 

Allocation Exemption. The Commission 

granted the relief conditioned upon the 

Participants’ adoption of Compliance 

Rules that implement the alternative 

approach to reporting allocations to the 

Central Repository described in the 

Allocation Exemption (referred to as the 

‘‘Allocation Alternative’’). 

(1) Request for Exemptive Relief 

Pursuant to Section 6.4(d)(ii)(A) of the 

CAT NMS Plan, each Participant must, 

through its Compliance Rule, require its 

Industry Members to record and report 

to the Central Repository, if the order is 

executed, in whole or in part: (1) An 

Allocation Report; 5 (2) the SROAssigned Market Participant Identifier 

of the clearing broker or prime broker, 

if applicable; and the (3) CAT-Order-ID 

of any contra-side order(s). Accordingly, 

the Exchange and the other Participants 

implemented Compliance Rules that 

require their Industry Members that are 

executing brokers to submit to the 

Central Repository, among other things, 

Allocation Reports and the SROVerDate Sep<11>2014 17:47 Dec 29, 2020 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\30DEN1.SGM 30DEN1