Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 164 / Thursday, August 24, 2006 / Notices 50109 

1 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 

2Pub. L. 106–102, 113 Stat. 1338 (1999). 

3See 15 U.S.C. 78q(i). 

4See Exchange Act Release No. 49831 (Jun. 8, 

2004), 69 FR 34472 (Jun. 21, 2004). 

5See H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 106–434, 165 (1999). 

See also Exchange Act Release No. 49831, at 6 (Jun. 

8, 2004), 69 FR 34472, at 34473 (Jun. 21, 2004). 

6 17 CFR 240.17i–5(b)(2). 

7 (900 hours + 100 hours) × 3 IBHCs/SIBHCs = 

3,000 hours. 

8An IBHC would be required to review and 

update its Notice of Intention to the extent it 

becomes inaccurate prior to a Commission 

determination, and an SIBHC would be required to 

update its Notice of Intention if it changes a 

mathematical model used to calculate its risk 

allowances pursuant to Rule 17i–7 after a 

Commission determination was made. 

9 (2 hours × 12 months each year) × 3 SIBHCs = 

72. 

10 (3,000 hours to file the Notices of Intention + 

72 hours to update them). 

Information Services, Washington, DC 

20549. 

Extension: Rule 17i–2, SEC File No. 270–528, 

OMB Control No. 3235–0592. 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 1 the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) intends to 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget a request for extension of the 

previously approved collection of 

information discussed below. The Code 

of Federal Regulation citation to this 

collection of information is the 

following rule: 17 CFR 240.17i–2. 

Section 231 of the Gramm-LeachBliley Act of 1999 2 (the ‘‘GLBA’’) 

amended Section 17 of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 to create a 

regulatory framework under which a 

holding company of a broker-dealer 

(‘‘investment bank holding company’’ or 

‘‘IBHC’’) may voluntarily be supervised 

by the Commission as a supervised 

investment bank holding company (or 

‘‘SIBHC’’).3 In 2004, the Commission 

promulgated rules, including Rule 17i–

2, to create a framework for the 

Commission to supervise SIBHCs.4 This 

framework includes qualification 

criteria for SIBHCs, as well as 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements. Among other things, this 

regulatory framework for SIBHCs is 

intended to provide a basis for non-US 

financial regulators to treat the 

Commission as the principal U.S. 

consolidated, home-country supervisor 5

for SIBHCs and their affiliated brokerdealers. 

Rule 17i–2 provides the method by 

which an IBHC can elect to become an 

SIBHC. In addition, Rule 17i–2 indicates 

that the IBHC will automatically become 

an SIBHC 45 days after the Commission 

receives its completed Notice of 

Intention unless the Commission issues 

an order indicating either that it will 

begin its supervision sooner or that it 

does not believe it to be necessary or 

appropriate in furtherance of Section 17 

of the Act for the IBHC to be so 

supervised. Finally, Rule 17i–2 sets 

forth the criteria the Commission would 

use to make this determination. The 

records required to be created pursuant 

to Rule 17i–2 must be preserved for a 

period of not less than three years.6

The collections of information 

required by Rule 17i–2 are necessary to 

allow the Commission to effectively 

determine whether supervision of an 

IBHC as an SIBHC is necessary or 

appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of § 17 of the Act. In addition, 

these collections are needed so that the 

Commission can adequately supervise 

the activities of these SIBHCs. Finally, 

these rules enhance the Commission’s 

supervision of the SIBHCs’ subsidiary 

broker-dealers through collection of 

additional information and inspections 

of affiliates of those broker-dealers. 

We estimate that three IBHCs will file 

Notices of Intention with the 

Commission to be supervised by the 

Commission as SIBHCs. Each IBHC that 

files a Notice of Intention to become 

supervised by the Commission as an 

SIBHC will require approximately 900 

hours to draft the Notice of Intention, 

compile the various documents to be 

included with the Notice of Intention, 

and work with the Commission staff. 

Further, each IBHC likely will have an 

attorney review its Notice of Intention, 

and it will take the attorney 

approximately 100 hours to complete 

such a review. Consequently, we 

estimate the total one-time burden for 

all three firms to file their Notices of 

Intention would be approximately 3,000 

hours.7 Rule 17i–2 also requires that an 

IBHC/SIBHC update its Notice of 

Intention on an ongoing basis.8 Each 

IBHC/SIBHC will require approximately 

two hours each month to update its 

Notice of Intention, as necessary. Thus, 

we estimate that it will take the three 

IBHC/SIBHCs, in the aggregate, about 72 

hours each year to update their Notices 

of Intention.9 Thus, the total burden 

relating to Rule 17i–2 for all SIBHCs 

would be approximately 3,072 hours in 

the first year,10 and approximately 72 

hours each year thereafter. 

Written comments are invited on: (a) 

Whether the collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information; (c) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information collected; and (d) 

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. 

Comments should be directed to: R. 

Corey Booth, Director/Chief Information 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, C/O Shirley Martinson, 

6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, 

Virginia 22312 or send an e-mail to: 

PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must 

be submitted to OMB within 60 days of 

this notice. 

Dated: August 14, 2006. 

J. Lynn Taylor, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E6–14024 Filed 8–23–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting 

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to 

the provisions of the Government in the 

Sunshine Act, Pub. L. 94–409, that the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

will hold the following meeting during 

the week of August 28, 2006: 

A Closed Meeting will be held on 

Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 10 a.m. 

Commissioners, Counsels to the 

Commissioners, the Secretary to the 

Commission, and recording secretaries 

will attend the Closed Meeting. Certain 

staff members who have an interest in 

the matters may also be present. 

The General Counsel of the 

Commission, or his designee, has 

certified that, in his opinion, one or 

more of the exemptions set forth in 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c)(3), (5), (7), (9)(B), (10) 

and 17 CFR 200.402(a) (3), (5), (7), 

(9)(ii), and (10) permit consideration of 

the scheduled matters at the Closed 

Meeting. 

Commissioner Casey, as duty officer, 

voted to consider the items listed for the 

closed meeting in closed session. 

The subject matters of the Closed 

Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 

29, 2006 will be: 

Formal orders of investigation; 

Institution and settlement of injunctive 

actions; 

Institution and settlement of 

administrative proceedings of an 

enforcement nature; 

An adjudicatory matter; 

Requests for information in an 

investigative file; 

Litigation matter; and 

Other matters related to enforcement 

proceedings. 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES1
50110 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 164 / Thursday, August 24, 2006 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53635 

(April 12, 2006), 71 FR 20144 (April 19, 2006). 

6Telephone conversation between Kristie Diemer, 

Special Counsel, Division of Market Regulation, 

Commission and Jeffrey P. Burns, Vice President 

and Associate General Counsel, Exchange, on 

August 16, 2006. 

At times, changes in Commission 

priorities require alterations in the 

scheduling of meeting items. 

For further information and to 

ascertain what, if any, matters have been 

added, deleted or postponed, please 

contact: The Office of the Secretary at 

(202) 551–5400. 

Dated: August 22, 2006. 

Nancy M. Morris, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 06–7177 Filed 8–22–06; 3:54 pm] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–54324; File No. SR–Amex–

2006–63] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice 

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness 

of Proposed Rule Change Relating to 

Transaction Based Fees for 

Supplemental Registered Options 

Traders 

August 16, 2006. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’), and Rule 19b–4 2 thereunder, 

notice is hereby given that on August 

15, 2006, the American Stock Exchange 

LLC (‘‘Amex’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) a 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by the Exchange. 

Amex has designated the proposed rule 

change as establishing or changing a 

due, fee, or other charge applicable only 

to members, pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,3 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 4 thereunder, which renders 

the proposal effective upon filing with 

the Commission. 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 

Amex proposes to amend its Options 

Fee Schedule to adopt transaction-based 

fees for Supplemental Registered 

Options Traders (‘‘SROTs’’). 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on Amex’s Web site at 

http://www.amex.com, at Amex’s Office 

of the Secretary, 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, 

Amex included statements concerning 

the purpose of and basis for the 

proposed rule change and discussed any 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule change. The text of these statements 

may be examined at the places specified 

in Item IV below. The Exchange has 

prepared summaries, set forth in 

Sections A, B, and C below, of the most 

significant aspects of such statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

Amex proposes to amend its Options 

Fee Schedule to subject SROTs to the 

Exchange’s options transactions fee, 

options comparison fee, options floor 

brokerage fee, options marketing fee and 

options licensing fee. SROTs are 

members of the Exchange.5

The Exchange proposes to adopt an 

aggregate transaction-based fee for 

SROTs of $0.23 per contract side 

(consisting of an options transaction fee 

of $0.13 per contract side, an options 

comparison fee of $.05 per contract side 

and an options floor brokerage fee of 

$0.05 per contract side) for equity 

options, ETF options, and trust issued 

receipt options. In addition, an 

aggregate transaction-based fee for 

SROTs of $0.36 per contract side 

(consisting of an options transaction fee 

of $0.26 per contract side, an options 

comparison fee of $0.05 per contract 

side and an options floor brokerage fee 

of $0.05 per contract side) for index 

options (including MNX and NDX 

options) is also proposed by the 

Exchange. The aggregate transactionbased fee for SROTs is set higher than 

the specialist and Registered Options 

Trader (‘‘ROT’’) transaction fees because 

the Exchange will incur additional 

systems and logistical costs in order to 

establish and maintain the 

infrastructure needed to enable the 

participation of a SROT. 

The Exchange further proposes that 

the current options marketing fee for 

specialists and ROTs of $0.75 per 

contract side for equity options, ETF 

options (excluding SPY options), trust 

issued receipt options, and NDX and 

RUT Options, and $1.00 per contract 

side for SPY options, be equally 

applicable to SROTs. 

In addition, the Exchange also 

proposes that the options licensing fee 

on certain index options and ETF 

options be applicable to SROTs. The 

options licensing fee proposal for 

SROTs in connection with equity 

options, ETF options, and trust issued 

receipt options will equal the current 

charges applicable to specialists, ROTs, 

firms, non-member market makers, and 

broker-dealers. This options licensing 

fee varies in amount from $0.05 to $0.20 

per contract side, depending on the 

particular index or ETF option. 

Both the options order cancellation 

fee and broker-dealer auto-ex fees will 

be inapplicable to SROTs and RROTs, 

according to current footnote 4 and 

proposed footnote 10. Pursuant to 

footnote 4, cancellation fees are 

currently charged only to orders sent 

through the Amex Order File (‘‘AOF’’), 

which are not typically delivered in a 

market making capacity by an Amex 

specialist or ROT. Since, according to 

Amex rules, SROTs and RROTs act only 

in a market making capacity, and their 

orders are not delivered to the Exchange 

through AOF, the cancellation fee shall 

not apply to these participants. 

Likewise, broker-dealer auto-ex fees 

are typically charged only to orders for 

the accounts of firms, broker-dealers 

and non-member market makers 

because these orders are not delivered to 

the Exchange in a market making 

capacity.6 Currently, orders from ROTs 

and specialists in their market making 

capacity (i.e., liquidity providers) are 

not charged a broker-dealer auto-ex fee. 

However, orders of ROTs and 

specialists, if delivered to the Exchange 

via AOF, would be charged a brokerdealer auto-ex fee because these orders 

would not be part of their market 

making function. RROT and SROT 

orders will not be charged the brokerdealer auto-ex fee because these market 

participants act only in a market making 

capacity, and their orders are not 

delivered through AOF. 

Finally, the Exchange proposes to 

amend several of the footnotes to its 

Options Fee Schedule. Footnote 3 

provides that the marketing fee will also 

be collected on SROT transactions 

involving electronically executed 

customer orders from firms accepting 

payment for directing their orders to the 

Exchange. Furthermore, if a specialist 

has negotiated a payment to a firm of 

less than the marketing fee, the 

difference between the marketing fee 

and the actual payment will also be 


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