2468 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

5All capitalized terms not defined herein have 

the same definition as the CDSClearing Rule Book, 

Supplement or Procedures, as applicable. 

registered investment company 

involved; and (c) the proposed 

transaction is consistent with the 

general purposes of the Act. Rule 17d– 

1(b) under the Act provides that in 

passing upon an application filed under 

the rule, the Commission will consider 

whether the participation of the 

registered investment company in a 

joint enterprise, joint arrangement or 

profit sharing plan on the basis 

proposed is consistent with the 

provisions, policies and purposes of the 

Act and the extent to which such 

participation is on a basis different from 

or less advantageous than that of the 

other participants. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Investment Management, under delegated 

authority. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00330 Filed 1–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–90862; File No. SR–LCH 

SA–2020–007] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; LCH 

SA; Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of Proposed Rule 

Change Relating to the Amendments 

of the CDSClear Fee Grid 

January 6, 2021. 

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 

31, 2020, Banque Centrale de 

Compensation, which conducts 

business under the name LCH SA (‘‘LCH 

SA’’), filed with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

the proposed rule change described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by LCH SA. LCH SA 

filed the proposed rule change pursuant 

to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act,3 and 

Rule 19b–4(f)(2) 4 thereunder, so that the 

proposed rule change was effective 

upon filing with the Commission. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Terms of Substance of the Proposed 

Rule Change 

The proposed rule change is to review 

and modify the current CDSClear fee 

grid applied by LCH SA. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

has been annexed as Exhibit 5 [sic]. 

II. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

LCH SA 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. LCH SA has prepared 

summaries, set forth in sections A, B, 

and C below, of the most significant 

aspects of these statements. 

A. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

1. Purpose 

The purpose of the proposed fee 

changes is for LCH SA CDSClear to 

revise the (i) fees under the Unlimited 

Tariff for General Members,5 (ii) fees for 

Corporates and Financials Index and 

Single Name CDS under the 

Introductory Tariff for both General and 

Select Members, (iii) fees set up for the 

Options clearing service for both 

General and Select Members and Clients 

as well and introduce (iv) new fee 

conditions for Affiliates clearing as 

client. 

LCH SA is currently applying the 

below fee grid for CDSClear members: 

CURRENT SELF-CLEARING TARIFF FOR CORPORATES AND FINANCIALS INDEX AND SINGLE NAME CDS 

Membership Annual fixed fee 

Self-clearing/variable fees 

EUR 

indices 

EUR 

single names 

USD 

indices 

USD 

single names 

General Member—Unlimited 

Tariff.

Ö 1,300,000 ................................. No Variable Fee Covers all self-clearing Corporate 

and Financials Index and Single Name activity for a Clearing Member and its affiliates. 

General Member—Introductory Tariff.Ö200,000 if the total annual 

gross notional cleared is under 

Ö15 billion.

Ö3.5 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

Ö10 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

$4.5 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

$13 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

Cap on total annual self-clearing 

fees (fixed + variable) of EUR 

1,300,000 after which all further trades cleared in the calendar year are subject to a fee 

holiday. 

Ö400,000 if the total annual 

gross notional cleared is over 

Ö15 billion.

Ö3.5 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

Ö10 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

$4.5 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

$13 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

Select Member .. Ö250,000 if the total annual 

gross notional cleared is under 

Ö25 billion.

Ö4 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

Ö10 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

$5 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

$13 Per million 

gross notional 

cleared.

Ö450,000 if the total annual 

gross notional cleared is over 

Ö25 billion.


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Notices 2469 

OPTIONS TARIFF INCLUDING FEE REBATE

General Member 

Introductory Tariff .................................................. Cover only one legal entity (no affiliate coverage). In-year switches are not permitted. 

Clearing Fees ................................................ $15 per million of option notional on US Indices. 

Ö15 per million of option notional on European Indices. 

Floor on clearing fees ............................. Ö 150k Per calendar year (no pro-rating). 

Cap on Clearing fees ............................. Ö 375k Per calendar year (no pro-rating). 

Unlimited Tariff ...................................................... Cover all affiliates of a given Clearing Member Group Cover all clearing fees for Credit Option House activity for 

both iTraxx and CDX.NA underlying index families. Excludes any potential future EEP usage fees. In-year 

switches are not permitted. 

Fixed fee (annual) .......................................... Ö 375k Per 

calendar year 

(no pro-rating). 

Discounted Rates * ........................................ Ö 150k if notionals cleared strictly above Ö6bn but equal to or below Ö13.5bn Ö 75k if notionals cleared strictly 

above Ö13.5bn. 

Onboarding Fees ..................................................

(both Introductory & unlimited) .............................

Ö 30k One-off fee per Legal Entity under the Introductory tariff or per Clearing Member Group under 

Unlimited tariff waived until 30-Apr-2020. 

Select Member 

Introductory Tariff .................................................. Cover only one legal entity (no affiliate coverage) 

In-year switches are not permitted. 

Clearing Fees ................................................ $ 18 per million of option notional on US Indices. 

Ö 18 per million of option notional on European Indices. 

Cap on Clearing fees ............................. Ö 400k Per calendar year (no pro-rating). 

Unlimited Tariff ...................................................... Cover all affiliates of a given Clearing Member Group. Cover all clearing fees for Credit Option House activity for 

both iTraxx and CDX.NA underlying index families. Excludes any potential future EEP usage fees. In-year 

switches are not permitted. 

Fixed fee (annual) .......................................... Ö 400k Per calendar year (no pro-rating). 

Discounted Rates * ........................................ Ö 150k if notionals cleared strictly above Ö6bn but equal to or below Ö13.5bn Ö 75k if notionals cleared strictly 

above Ö13.5bn. 

Onboarding Fees (both Introductory & unlimited) Ö 30k One-off fee per Legal Entity under the Introductory tariff or per Clearing Member Group under 

Unlimited tariff waived until 30-Apr-2020. 

* Cumulative conditions for the Fee rebate: 

(i) Application to the Unlimited Tariff only; 

(ii) Application to all Clearing Members registering to the Index Swaptions clearing service (registration letter or application file signature date); and 

(iii) Index Swaptions notional cleared for the determination of the discount rate to be observed from the regulatory effective date of the rebate. 

Client 

Clearing Fees ........................................................ $ 20 per million of option notional on US Indices. 

Ö 20 per million of option notional on European Indices. 

As specified in the new fee grid 

attached under Exhibit 5 [sic], LCH SA 

is proposing to amend the CDSClear fee 

grid from January 1st, 2021. 

The proposed fee changes are driven 

by the evolution of the CDSClear 

business and arrangements. 

—for the Index and Single Names: The 

fee change reflects a transition to a 

more matured phase of development 

of the CDSClear service, and 

—for the Options fee grid: The intent is 

to adjust the fee conditions and rebate 

to the new competitive environment 

as well as encourage the development 

of options clearing by clients, 

—for Affiliates clearing as client, the 

need to take into consideration the 

evolution of the corporate structure of 

dealers and the use of multiple legal 

entities. 

(1) Change the Fees Under the 

Unlimited Tariff for General Members 

CDSClear currently offers an 

Unlimited Tariff for General Members 

that covers all self-clearing Corporate 

and Financials CDS Index and Single 

Names activity for a Financial Group of 

a Clearing Member for an annual fixed 

fee of Ö1,300,000 (no variable fees). 

The proposed change consists in 

increasing the annual fixed fee amount 

to Ö1,350,000 per year from January 1, 

2021. 

(2) Change the Fees Under the 

Introductory Tariff for Both General and 

Select Members 

(a) For General Members 

As specified in the new LCH SA 

CDSClear fee grid attached below in 

Exhibit 5 [sic], from January 1, 2021, the 

annual fixed fee under the Introductory 

Tariff will be set for General Members 

to Ö200,000 if the total annual gross 

notional cleared is under Ö10bn (vs 

Ö15bn today) and to Ö400,000 per year 

when clearing more than Ö10bn (vs 

Ö15bn today). 

LCH SA is also proposing to remove 

the previous annual cap on total annual 

fees (fixed + variable) of Ö1,300,000 

under the Introductory Tariff for 

General Members. 

The variable fees remain the same as 

the current ones. 

(b) For Select Members 

From January 1, 2021, the annual 

fixed fee under the Introductory Tariff 

will be set for Select Members to 

Ö250,000 if the total annual gross 

notional cleared is under Ö20bn (vs 

Ö25bn today) and to Ö450,000 per year 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
2470 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Notices 

6 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(D). 

7 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 

for Select Members when clearing more 

than Ö20bn (vs Ö25bn today). 

The variable fees remain the same as 

the current ones. 

(3) Revise the Fees Set Up For the 

Options Clearing Service for Both 

General and Select Members as Well as 

Clients 

(a) Options Unlimited Tariff for General 

and Select Members 

From January 1, 2021, the annual 

fixed fee covering all clearing fees for 

Credit Index Options House activity for 

all Affiliates of a given Financial Group 

of a Clearing Member is proposed to 

change from a two tier discount (the 

first one if the notional cleared is 

strictly above Ö6bn and the second one 

if the notional cleared is strictly above 

Ö13.5bn) to a single discount if the 

notional cleared is strictly above Ö15bn. 

The fixed fee would in the new fee grid 

then be reduced from Ö375,000 to 

Ö115,000 (no prorating) for General 

Members and from Ö400,000 to 

Ö115,000 (no prorating) for Select 

Members compared to Ö150k and Ö75k 

for the two tiers currently. 

(b) Options Introductory Tariff for 

General and Select Members 

The current Options Introductory 

Tariff for both General and Select 

Members covers only the legal entity 

that is registering to the service. 

The Options Introductory Tariff for a 

General Member is proposed to be based 

on the annual floor and conditions 

below: 

• Floor of Ö115,000 for a single entity 

(vs Ö150,000 today per entity) 

• Floor of Ö150,000 for 2 entities of the 

same Financial Group of a Clearing 

Member 

• Floor of Ö190,000 for 3 or more 

entities of the same Financial Group 

of a Clearing Member 

• Removal of the annual cap of 

Ö375,000 on Options clearing fees 

• Reduction of variable fees from Ö15/ 

$15 to Ö8/$8 per million of option 

notional cleared. 

The Options Introductory Tariff for a 

Select Member is proposed to be based 

on the conditions below: 

• Reduction of variable fees from Ö18/ 

$18 to Ö10/$10 per million of option 

notional cleared 

• Removal of the annual cap on Options 

clearing fees of Ö400,000 

(c) Options Clearing Members (General 

Members Under Unlimited or 

Introductory) 

LCH SA is proposing an up to 

Ö200,000 fee rebate limited to the total 

amount of Options clearing fees paid by 

a Financial Group of a Clearing Member 

in 2021 for the first two Clearing 

Members clearing Options for at least 

one Client by 31 July 2021. 

(d) Options Clearing Fees for Clients 

The Options clearing fee grid for 

Clients is proposed to include the 

following changes: 

• Clients variable clearing fees for 

Options decreased from Ö20/$20 to 

Ö5/$5 per million of option notional 

cleared 

• Fee holiday for Clients clearing 

Options in 2021 

(4) Introduction of New Fee Conditions 

for Affiliates Clearing as Client 

As specified in the new LCH SA 

CDSClear options fee grid attached 

below in Exhibit 5 [sic], LCH SA 

CDSClear is proposing to offer a full 

rebate on client clearing variable fees for 

Affiliates of a Clearing Member that is 

clearing as client of that Clearing 

Member under the following conditions: 

• The Clearing Member is a General 

Member under the Unlimited Tariff, 

• The Affiliate is a legal entity part of 

the same Financial Group as the 

Clearing Member, 

• The rebate applies to 1 trade 

account per Affiliate and for all clearing 

services for which the Clearing Member 

is under the Unlimited Tariff (i.e. Index 

& Single Names and/or Options), 

• The rebate cannot apply to any 

account opened for CCM Indirect 

Clients, and 

• A fixed annual account fee of 

Ö100,000 is charged per Affiliate of a 

Clearing Member onboarded as a Client 

and benefiting from the full rebate on 

variable fees. 

2. Statutory Basis 

Section 17A(b)(3)(D) of the Act 

requires that the rules of a clearing 

agency provide for the equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 

other charges.6

LCH SA believes that its clearing fee 

change proposal is consistent with the 

requirements of Section 17A of the Act 7

and the regulations thereunder 

applicable to it, and in particular 

provides for the equitable allocation of 

reasonable fees, dues, and other charges 

among clearing members and market 

participants by ensuring that clearing 

members and clients pay reasonable fees 

and dues for the services provided by 

LCH SA, within the meaning of Section 

17A(b)(3)(D) of the Act. 

With respect to the change of the 

Index and Single Name CDS Unlimited 

Tariff for General Members, LCH SA has 

determined in consultation with its 

clearing members that the slight 

increase in the annual fixed fee amount 

for General Members covering their 

Index and Single Name CDS selfclearing activity is reasonable and 

appropriate as the CDSClear business is 

now reaching a more mature stage in its 

development and the likelihood to 

onboard new General Members under 

the Unlimited Tariff is small or even 

negligible given the structure of the CDS 

market and the limited number of 

market makers in this space. 

With respect to the Index and Single 

Names CDS Introductory Tariffs for both 

General and Select Members, both the 

annual fixed fee and the variable fees 

remain the same. The removal of the cap 

as well as the lowering of the notional 

thresholds aim at reflecting the fact that 

market participants are now more 

familiar with the CDSClear service as 

well as their own activity in the Credit 

Derivatives space: 

—the removal of the cap which was 

struck at the level of the fixed fee 

under the Unlimited Tariff 

incentivizes Clearing Members to 

select the most appropriate tariff for 

them at the start of the year. 

—the lowering of the notional 

thresholds would constitute an 

increase of fees for the Members 

which have cleared less than the 

current threshold but more than the 

new one. No member is in that 

situation. 

The main change in the fee grid of the 

Options clearing service is the decrease 

of the variable fees for General and 

Select Members as well as Clients in 

order to make clearing of options more 

attractive for all, and in particular for 

clients to begin clearing options. 

Besides, and after discussing with its 

Clearing Members, LCH SA has elected 

to maintain a similar volume-based 

discount fee structure for its Options 

Unlimited Tariff for both General and 

Select Members in which the cost of 

clearing options decreases as more 

volumes are cleared. The increase of the 

notional threshold as well as of the 

decrease of the discount percentage are 

reflective of the growth of the Option 

clearing service over the last year which 

now is more broadly used by LCH SA 

Clearing Members and which justifies 

the increase of total fees paid by the 

Clearing Members having selected this 

scheme. 

Consequently, the General Member 

Introductory Tariff has been redesigned 

to be more appropriate for smaller 

Options trading members: In particular, 

the decrease of the annual floor, the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Notices 2471 

8 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(I). 

introduction of 2 new levels of annual 

floor depending on the number of legal 

entities of a given Financial Group of a 

Clearing Member joining the service as 

well as the removal of the cap are meant 

to ease the introduction of new 

members to the Options clearing 

service. 

Changes following the same 

principles and rationale have also been 

made to the Select Members Options fee 

grid to ensure a consistent access 

between the 2 membership tiers. 

Lastly, and in order to incentivize the 

development of Options Client clearing, 

LCH SA is proposing to provide the first 

2 Clearing Members clearing options on 

behalf of at least one of their clients, and 

before 31 July 2021, with a one-off fee 

rebate equal to the total amount of 

Options clearing fees paid in 2021, 

capped at Ö200,000, in order to mitigate 

the cost associated with the systems 

developments required to enable clients 

to access the LCH SA Options clearing 

service. The rationale to limit the 

number of Clearing Members eligible to 

this one-off rebate to the first two 

clearing an option trade on behalf of 

clients is twofold: 

—Further incentivize competition 

between the Clearing Members which 

have an interest in building client 

clearing capabilities for options by 

offering a rebate substantial enough to 

cover some of the build costs that will 

be incurred by the Clearing Members. 

—Mitigate financial risk for LCH SA by 

predefining the maximum amount of 

rebate it could have to pay back to its 

Clearing Members as well as the 

amount of the rebate they would get, 

thus maintaining the attractiveness of 

the rebate for them. All clearing 

members will have the same 

opportunity to equally benefit from 

the proposed incentive rebate 

according to the specified conditions. 

Finally, the introduction of a specific 

fee structure (full variable fee rebate 

plus fixed account charge) for Affiliates 

of a given Financial Group of a Clearing 

Member clearing as Clients of such 

Clearing Member and under a set of predefined conditions aims at offering 

Financial Groups of Clearing Members 

under the General Membership 

Unlimited Tariff additional, fairlypriced ways for their Affiliates to gain 

access to LCH SA CDSClear service. 

LCH SA CDSClear has thus 

determined that the proposed new fee 

structure is more appropriate and takes 

into account the expected volume of 

transactions. All the clearing fee 

conditions remain transparent and 

equally applicable to any market 

participant wishing to access the 

CDSClear clearing service for both Index 

& Single Names as well as Options. 

For all the reasons stated above, LCH 

SA believes that the proposed fee rates 

are reasonable and have been set up at 

an appropriate level so that LCH SA can 

provide the CDSClear services. 

B. Clearing Agency’s Statement on 

Burden on Competition 

Section 17A(b)(3)(I) of the Act 

requires that the rules of a clearing 

agency not impose any burden on 

competition not necessary or 

appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act.8

LCH SA does not believe that the 

proposed rule change would impose any 

burden on competition that are not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act because LCH 

SA is offering the possibility for 

CDSClear members and clients to get a 

more attractive access to the clearing 

services. It does not affect the ability of 

such Clearing Members or other market 

participants generally to engage in 

cleared transactions or to access clearing 

services especially to the clearing of 

credit index swaptions that remains not 

mandatory. 

Additionally, the proposed volumebased discount scheme for the Options 

Unlimited Tariff will be available to any 

Financial Group of a Clearing Member 

using CDSClear services. 

Similarly, the proposed Index and 

Single Names Unlimited Tariff will be 

available to any Financial Group 

including an entity registered as a 

General Member of the CDSClear 

service. 

The annual fixed fee increase does not 

impact any competition between 

General and Select Members as the 

choice of membership tier made by a 

Clearing Member is mainly driven by 

the material differences in the 

obligations of a General Member versus 

those of a Select Member (in terms of 

price contribution and auction bidding 

notably) which are reflected in the 

tariffs available for each tier. 

The rebate offered on client clearing 

fees for Affiliates of a General Member 

under the Unlimited Tariff relies on the 

fact that should such Affiliate join as a 

Clearing Member his fees would be 

covered by the fixed fee of the 

Unlimited Tariff whereas this wouldn’t 

the [sic] case for Select Members. 

More broadly, none of the proposed 

changes impacts competition between 

General and Select Members as they 

have been designed consistently across 

both tiers or are more extensions of 

existing features of the current fee grid. 

Further, as explained above, LCH SA 

believes that the fee rates have been set 

up at an appropriate level given the 

costs and expenses to LCH SA in 

offering the relevant clearing services. 

C. Clearing Agency’s Statement on 

Comments on the Proposed Rule 

Change Received From Members, 

Participants or Others 

Written comments relating to the 

proposed rule change have not been 

solicited or received but a consultation 

has been conducted with and verbal 

feedback sought from CDSClear 

members. No comment or question has 

been received following this 

consultation. LCH SA will notify the 

Commission of any subsequent written 

comments received by LCH SA. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing proposed rule change 

has become effective upon filing 

pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)9 [sic] of 

the Act and Rule 19b–4(f)(2)10 [sic] 

thereunder because it establishes a fee 

or other charge imposed by LCH SA on 

its Clearing Members. 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. 

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– 

LCH SA–2020–007 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–LCH SA–2020–007. 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 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
2472 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Notices 

9 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Europe 

Limited; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change 

Relating to Amendments to the ICE Clear Europe 

CDS Procedures and CDS Default Management 

Policy, Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90806 

(December 28, 2020), 86 FR 169 (January 4, 2021) 

(SR–ICEEU–2020–018). 

4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) 

5 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

6Capitalized terms used but not defined herein 

have the meanings specified in the ICE Clear 

Europe Clearing Rules and the CDS Procedures. 

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 the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of LCH SA and on LCH SA’s 

website at: https://www.lch.com/ 

resources/rulebooks/proposed-rulechanges. 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–LCH 

SA–2020–007 and should be submitted 

on or before February 2, 2021. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.9

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00348 Filed 1–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–90861; File No. SR–ICEEU– 

2020–018] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE 

Clear Europe Limited; Notice of Filing 

of Partial Amendment No. 1 To 

Proposed Rule Change Relating to 

Amendments to the ICE Clear Europe 

CDS Procedures and CDS Default 

Management Policy 

January 6, 2021. 

On December 14, 2020, ICE Clear 

Europe Limited (‘‘ICE Clear Europe’’ or 

the ‘‘Clearing House’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 

19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act 

of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to 

modify its CDS Procedures and CDS 

Default Management Policy related to its 

CDS Default Committee. The proposed 

rule change was published for comment 

in the Federal Register on January 4, 

2021.3 On December 31, 2020, ICE Clear 

Europe filed Partial Amendment No. 1 

to the proposed rule change. Pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(1) of the Act 4 and Rule 

19b–4 thereunder,5 the Commission is 

publishing notice of this Partial 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 

change as described in Item I below, 

which has been prepared primarily by 

ICE Clear Europe. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comment on Partial Amendment No. 1 

from interested persons. 

I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Terms of Partial Amendment No. 1 to 

the Proposed Rule Change 

ICE Clear Europe submits this partial 

amendment (‘‘Partial Amendment No. 

1’’) to its previously submitted proposed 

rule changes (the ‘‘Initial Filing’’) to 

modify its CDS Procedures (the ‘‘CDS 

Procedures’’ or the ‘‘Procedures’’) 6 to 

update the requirements for a Clearing 

Member to be approved to be a CDS 

Committee-Eligible Clearing Member for 

purposes of the CDS Default Committee, 

as well as certain other updates and 

clarifications, and to modify its CDS 

Default Management Policy (the ‘‘CDS 

Default Management Policy’’ or 

‘‘Policy’’) to make corresponding 

updates to the requirements for a 

Clearing Member to be eligible to serve 

on the CDS Default Committee, as well 

as to provide more detail with respect 

to review and testing of its default 

procedures, remove appendices and 

make certain other updates and 

clarifications to be consistent with other 

ICE Clear Europe policies. Partial 

Amendment No. 1 is intended to amend 

Item 3(a) of the Initial Filing to add an 

explanation as to the circumstances 

pursuant to which ICE Clear Europe 

may permit a CDS Committee-Eligible 

Clearing Member to postpone 

participation in the CDS Default 

Committee for a Relevant CDS Default 

Committee Period for which it is 

otherwise due to take part. The text of 

the proposed rule changes in the Initial 

Filing is unchanged. 

As described in the Initial Filing, 

amendments to paragraph 5.3 of the 

CDS Procedures would add that if a CDS 

Committee-Eligible Clearing Member 

considers that it is unable to take part 

in the CDS Default Committee for the 

Relevant CDS Default Committee Period 

for which it is due to take part, it may 

request to postpone its participation for 

that period. ICE Clear Europe could, at 

its discretion, approve such request. In 

this Partial Amendment No. 1, ICE Clear 

Europe is providing the explanation in 

the paragraph below to supplement the 

description of the amendment to 

paragraph 5.3 of the CDS Procedures 

that was provided in the Initial Filing. 

In general, paragraph 5.3 is intended 

to give ICE Clear Europe a degree of 

flexibility in responding to a request for 

postponement from a Clearing Member, 

in light of the difficulty in outlining in 

advance all potential scenarios where it 

may be appropriate. In ICE Clear 

Europe’s view, based on its experience 

and discussions with Clearing Members 

about service on the committee, an 

acceptable excuse would most likely 

relate to temporary resource constraints 

at the Clearing Member. For example, if 

the committee member were already 

serving on the default committee of 

another clearing house during the 

relevant period or if a committee 

member otherwise had limited staffing 

resources to commit to the committee 

during that period, this may be 

considered satisfactory. ICE Clear 

Europe would expect to discuss the 

particular situation with the Clearing 

Member in question and would respond 

to any request for postponement to let 

the Clearing Member know whether its 

rationale was satisfactory. ICE Clear 

Europe believes this type of flexible 

approach is ultimately more favorable to 

both the Clearing House and Clearing 

Members than having a more rigid rule. 

The purpose of the rule change as set 

out in Item 3(a) of the Initial Filing is 

otherwise unchanged. 

II. 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 

up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may 

designate 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: 


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