Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 69973 

17 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 1 17 CFR 200.30–3a(a)(1)(ii). 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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–NYSEARCA–2023–68. 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 (https://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 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also 

will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of the 

Exchange. Do not include personal 

identifiable information in submissions; 

you should submit only information 

that you wish to make available 

publicly. We may redact in part or 

withhold entirely from publication 

submitted material that is obscene or 

subject to copyright protection. All 

submissions should refer to file number 

SR–NYSEARCA–2023–68 and should be 

submitted on or before October 31, 

2023. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.17

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22347 Filed 10–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98680] 

Order Cancelling Registrations of 

Certain Municipal Advisors Pursuant 

to Section 15B(c)(3) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 

October 3, 2023. 

The municipal advisors whose names 

appear in the attached Appendix, 

hereinafter referred to as the 

‘‘registrants,’’ are registered as 

municipal advisors pursuant to Sections 

15B(a)(1)(B) and 15B(a)(2) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’). 

On August 29, 2023, a Notice of 

Intention to Cancel Registration of 

Certain Municipal Advisors, including 

the registrants, was published in the 

Federal Register (Securities Exchange 

Act Release No. 34–98208). The notice 

gave interested persons an opportunity 

to request a hearing and stated that an 

order or orders cancelling the 

registrations would be issued unless a 

hearing was ordered. No request for a 

hearing has been filed by any of the 

registrants, and the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’) has not ordered a 

hearing. 

Pursuant to Section 15B(c)(3) of the 

Act, the Commission has found that 

each of the registrants is no longer in 

existence or has ceased to do business 

as a municipal advisor. 

Accordingly, 

It is ordered, pursuant to Section 

15B(c)(3) of the Act, that the registration 

of each registrant be, and hereby is, 

cancelled. 

For the Commission, by the Office of 

Municipal Securities, pursuant to delegated 

authority.1

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

Appendix: 

Registrant name SEC 

ID No. 

Betnun Nathan S ................................... 867–02495 

Christen Group, Inc ............................... 867–02467 

Southern Cross Financial Group LLC ... 867–02544 

OCONNOR & Co SECURITIES, INC ... 867–01245 

Capital Alaska LLC ............................... 867–02604 

Fray Municipal Securities ...................... 867–02064 

Massena Associates LLC ..................... 867–02569 

SUMMERS, CARROLL, WHISLER LLC 867–01938 

[FR Doc. 2023–22349 Filed 10–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98678; File No. SR– 

NYSEAMER–2023–48] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

American LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the NYSE 

American Options Fee Schedule To 

Modify the Options Regulatory Fee 

October 3, 2023. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that, on 

September 29, 2023, NYSE American 

LLC (‘‘NYSE American’’ or the 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘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 

NYSE American Options Fee Schedule 

(‘‘Fee Schedule’’) regarding the Options 

Regulatory Fee (‘‘ORF’’). The proposed 

rule change is available on the 

Exchange’s website at www.nyse.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. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69974 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 

4See proposed Fee Schedule, Section VII.A., 

Options Regulatory Fee (‘‘ORF’’). The Exchange 

proposes to modify the Fee Schedule to provide for 

a waiver of ORF from October 1, 2023 until 

December 31, 2023, and to provide that the ORF 

rate would be $0.0038 when the Exchange resumes 

assessing ORF on January 1, 2024. 

5The Exchange considers surveillance operations 

part of regulatory operations. The limitation on the 

use of regulatory funds also provides that they shall 

not be distributed. See Thirteenth Amended and 

Restated Operating Agreement of NYSE American 

LLC, Article IV, Section 4.05 and Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 87993 (January 16, 2020), 

85 FR 4050 (January 23, 2020) (SR–NYSEAMER– 

2020–04). 

6See Fee Schedule, Section VII.A., Options 

Regulatory Fee (‘‘ORF’’). The Exchange uses reports 

from OCC when assessing and collecting the ORF. 

The ORF is not assessed on outbound linkage 

trades. An ATP Holder is not assessed the fee until 

it has satisfied applicable technological 

requirements necessary to commence operations on 

NYSE American. See id. 

7The Exchange notes that many of the Exchange’s 

market surveillance programs require the Exchange 

to look at and evaluate activity across all options 

markets, such as surveillance for position limit 

violations, manipulation, front-running and 

contrary exercise advice violations/expiring 

exercise declarations. The Exchange and other 

options SROs are parties to a 17d–2 agreement 

allocating among the SROs regulatory 

responsibilities relating to compliance by the 

common members with rules for expiring exercise 

declarations, position limits, OCC trade 

adjustments, and Large Option Position Report 

reviews. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release 

No. 85097 (February 11, 2019), 84 FR 4871 

(February 19, 2019). 

8See Fee Schedule, supra note 6. 

9See https://www.nyse.com/trader-update/ 

history#110000672056. 

10The Exchange notes that it last modified the 

ORF rate in February 2014. See Securities Exchange 

Act Release No. 71410 (January 27, 2014), 79 FR 

5506 (January 31, 2014) (SR–NYSEMKT–2014–09). 

The Exchange also previously filed to waive the 

ORF from November 1, 2022 through January 31, 

2023. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

96373 (November 22, 2022), 87 FR 73376 

(November 29, 2022) (SR–NYSEAMER–2022–52). 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Fee Schedule to decrease the ORF from 

$0.0055 per contract to $0.0038 per 

contract, effective on January 1, 2024, 

and to provide for a temporary waiver 

of the ORF for the three months leading 

up to such change, from October 1, 2023 

through December 31, 2023 (the 

‘‘Waiver Period’’).4

Background 

As a general matter, the Exchange 

may only use regulatory funds such as 

the ORF ‘‘to fund the legal, regulatory, 

and surveillance operations’’ of the 

Exchange.5 More specifically, the ORF 

is designed to recover a material 

portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s 

costs for the supervision and regulation 

of ATP Holders, including the 

Exchange’s regulatory program and legal 

expenses associated with options 

regulation, such as the costs related to 

in-house staff, third-party service 

providers, and technology that facilitate 

regulatory functions such as 

surveillance, investigation, 

examinations and enforcement 

(collectively, the ‘‘ORF Costs’’). ORF 

funds may also be used for indirect 

expenses such as human resources and 

other administrative costs. The 

Exchange monitors the amount of 

revenue collected from the ORF to 

ensure that this revenue, in combination 

with other regulatory fees and fines, 

does not exceed regulatory costs. 

The ORF is assessed on ATP Holders 

for options transactions that are cleared 

by the ATP Holder through the Options 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) in the 

Customer range regardless of the 

exchange on which the transaction 

occurs and is collected from OTP 

Holder clearing firms by the OCC on 

behalf of NYSE American.6 All options 

transactions must clear via a clearing 

firm and such clearing firms can then 

choose to pass through all, a portion, or 

none of the cost of the ORF to its 

customers, i.e., the entering firms. The 

Exchange notes that the costs relating to 

monitoring ATP Holders with respect to 

Customer trading activity are generally 

higher than the costs associated with 

monitoring ATP Holders that do not 

engage in Customer trading activity, 

which tends to be more automated and 

less labor-intensive. By contrast, 

regulating ATP Holders that engage in 

Customer trading activity is generally 

more labor intensive and requires a 

greater expenditure of human and 

technical resources as the Exchange 

needs to review not only the trading 

activity on behalf of Customers, but also 

the ATP Holder’s relationship with its 

Customers via more labor-intensive 

exam-based programs.7 As a result, the 

costs associated with administering the 

customer component of the Exchange’s 

overall regulatory program are 

materially higher than the costs 

associated with administering the noncustomer component (e.g., ATP Holder 

proprietary transactions) of its 

regulatory program. 

ORF Collections and Monitoring of ORF 

Exchange rules establish that market 

participants must be notified of any 

change in the ORF via Trader Update at 

least 30 calendar days prior to the 

effective date of the change.8

Because the ORF is based on options 

transactions volume, the amount of ORF 

collected is variable. For example, if 

options transactions reported to OCC in 

a given month increase, the ORF 

collected from ATP Holders will likely 

increase as well. Similarly, if options 

transactions reported to OCC in a given 

month decrease, the ORF collected from 

ATP Holders will likely decrease as 

well. Accordingly, the Exchange 

monitors the amount of ORF collected 

to ensure that it does not exceed the 

ORF Costs. If the Exchange determines 

the amount of ORF collected exceeds 

ORF Costs, the Exchange will adjust the 

ORF by submitting a fee change filing to 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’). 

Reduction of ORF and Temporary ORF 

Waiver 

The Exchange currently assesses an 

ORF of $0.0055 per contract. Based on 

the Exchange’s recent review of 

regulatory costs, ORF collections, and 

options transaction volume, the 

Exchange proposes to decrease the ORF 

from the current rate of $0.0055 per 

contract to $0.0038 per contract 

effective January 1, 2024 and, in concert 

with the proposed reduction of the ORF, 

to waive the ORF from October 1, 2023 

through December 31, 2023 in order to 

help ensure that the amount collected 

from the ORF, in combination with 

other regulatory fees and fines, does not 

exceed the Exchange’s total regulatory 

costs. The Exchange notified ATP 

Holders of the proposed temporary 

waiver of the ORF via Trader Update on 

September 1, 2023 (which was at least 

30 calendar days prior to the proposed 

operative date of the waiver, October 1, 

2023) 9 and will also notify ATP Holders 

of the proposed change to the ORF rate 

via Trader Update at least 30 days prior 

to the proposed operative date of the 

new rate, January 1, 2024. The Exchange 

believes such notices will ensure that 

market participants have sufficient 

opportunity to configure their systems 

to account properly for both the ORF 

waiver and revised ORF. 

The proposed modification of the 

ORF and accompanying waiver are 

informed by the Exchange’s analysis of 

recent options volumes. The Exchange 

proposes to reduce the ORF because it 

believes that options transaction volume 

has increased to a level that if the ORF 

is not adjusted, the ORF revenue to the 

Exchange year-over-year could exceed a 

material portion of the Exchange’s ORF 

Costs.10 The options industry has 

continued to experience extremely high 

options trading volumes and volatility, 

as illustrated in the table below 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 69975 

11The OCC publishes options and futures volume 

in a variety of formats, including daily and monthly 

volume by exchange, available here: https://

www.theocc.com/Market-Data/Market-DataReports/Volume-and-Open-Interest/MonthlyWeekly-Volume-Statistics. The volume discussed in 

this filing is based on a compilation of OCC data 

for monthly volume of equity-based options and 

monthly volume of ETF-based options, in contract 

sides. 

12 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

13 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

reflecting industry data from OCC for 

2021, 2022, and 2023: 11

2021 2022 2023 

Customer ADV ......................................................................................................................................... 34,730,276 34,091,409 35,957,560 

Total ADV ................................................................................................................................................ 74,339,870 76,488,459 81,483,685 

For example, although customer 

average daily volume decreased slightly 

from 2021 to 2022, both total average 

daily volume and customer average 

daily volume in 2023 increased over the 

already elevated levels in 2021 and 

2022. 

The below industry data from OCC 

demonstrates the high options trading 

volumes and volatility that the industry 

has continued to experience in 2023: 

April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 

Customer ADV ..................................................................... 32,498,578 34,535,662 37,028,394 35,965,918 35,387,029 

Total ADV ............................................................................. 73,005,006 78,571,791 83,362,815 80,391,999 81,381,473 

The persisting increased options 

volumes have, in turn, impacted the 

amount of ORF collected. To determine 

whether ORF fees should be adjusted, 

the Exchange reviewed options 

transaction volume from 2021 through 

August 2023. Based on the Exchange’s 

review and analysis of historical options 

transaction volume and predictions 

regarding future options transaction 

volume, the Exchange projects that 

options transaction volume is likely to 

continue to remain high into 2024. 

The Exchange believes that it has 

sufficient information based on recent 

options transaction volume to determine 

how to adjust the ORF for 2024. Taking 

into consideration both the sustained 

increase in options transaction volume, 

which has persisted into 2023 (and 

which has translated to increased ORF 

collection), the Exchange proposes to 

decrease the ORF from $0.0055 to 

$0.0038 per contract. The Exchange 

further proposes to make this change 

effective on January 1, 2024 and to not 

assess any ORF during the Waiver 

Period, rather than further adjusting the 

ORF for the duration of the Waiver 

Period, as the Exchange believes this 

proposal would most efficiently 

accomplish the goals of ensuring that 

ORF collection does not exceed ORF 

Costs for 2023 and modifying the ORF 

rate so that the Exchange may assess an 

ORF that is designed to recover a 

material portion, but not all, of the 

Exchange’s projected ORF Costs when 

the Exchange resumes assessing ORF on 

January 1, 2024. 

The proposed decrease in ORF is 

based on the Exchange’s estimated 

projections for its regulatory costs, 

balanced with the observed increase in 

options volumes. The Exchange cannot 

predict whether options volume will 

remain at the current level going 

forward and projections for future 

regulatory costs are estimated, 

preliminary, and may change. However, 

the Exchange believes that amounts 

collected from assessment of the ORF 

(as modified) will continue to cover a 

material portion, but not all, of the 

Exchange’s ORF Costs. In addition, 

because of the sustained impact of the 

elevated trading volumes that have 

persisted into 2023, along with the 

difficulty of predicting when volumes 

may return to more normal levels, the 

Exchange believes that waiving ORF 

from October 1, 2023 to December 31, 

2023 and implementing the reduced 

ORF rate of $0.0038 on January 1, 2024 

(rather than reducing ORF more 

drastically in the interim) would lessen 

the potential for generating excess funds 

and help ensure that the ORF is 

designed to recover a material portion, 

but not all, of the Exchange’s projected 

ORF Costs. The Exchange will continue 

monitoring ORF Costs in advance of the 

resumption of the ORF and when it 

resumes assessing ORF on January 1, 

2024, and, if the Exchange determines 

that, in light of projected volumes and 

ORF Costs, the ORF rate should be 

further modified to help ensure that 

ORF collections would not exceed a 

material portion of ORF Costs, adjust 

the ORF by submitting a proposed rule 

change and notifying ATP Holders of 

such change by Trader Update. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

the provisions of Section 6(b) 12 of the 

Act, in general, and Section 6(b)(4) and 

(5) 13 of the Act, in particular, in that it 

is designed to provide for the equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 

other charges among its members and 

other persons using its facilities and 

does not unfairly discriminate between 

customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Proposal Is Reasonable 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

reduction of ORF and accompanying 

temporary waiver of the ORF is 

reasonable because it would help ensure 

that collections from the ORF do not 

exceed a material portion of the 

Exchange’s ORF Costs. As noted above, 

the ORF is designed to recover a 

material portion, but not all, of the 

Exchange’s ORF Costs. 

Although there can be no assurance 

that the Exchange’s final costs for 2023 

will not differ materially from its 

expectations and prior practice, nor can 

the Exchange predict with certainty 

whether options volume will remain at 

current or similar levels going forward, 

the Exchange believes that the amount 

collected based on the current ORF rate, 

when combined with regulatory fees 

and fines, may result in collections in 

excess of the estimated ORF Costs for 

the year and going forward. Particularly, 

as noted above, the options market has 

continued to experience elevated 

volumes and volatility in 2023, thereby 

resulting in substantially higher ORF 

collections than projected. The 

Exchange therefore believes that it 

would be reasonable to decrease the 

ORF from $0.0055 per contract to 

$0.0038 per contract effective January 1, 

2024, and, in connection with that 

change, to waive ORF from October 1, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69976 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 

2023 through December 31, 2023. The 

Exchange believes the proposed change 

is reasonable because it would help the 

Exchange ensure that ORF collection 

does not exceed a material portion of 

the ORF Costs for 2023 and facilitate the 

efficient implementation of a revised 

ORF rate designed to recover a material 

portion, but not all, of the Exchange’s 

projected ORF Costs. The Exchange 

proposes to make the new ORF rate 

effective on January 1, 2024 and to not 

assess any ORF during the Waiver 

Period, rather than further adjusting the 

ORF for the duration of the Waiver 

Period, as the Exchange believes this 

proposal would most efficiently 

accomplish these objectives. The 

Exchange believes that not assessing 

ORF during the Waiver Period and 

taking into account all of the Exchange’s 

other regulatory fees and fines would 

allow the Exchange to continue covering 

a material portion of ORF Costs, while 

lessening the potential for generating 

excess funds that may otherwise occur 

using the current rate. The Exchange 

also believes that it is reasonable to 

resume ORF at the decreased rate of 

$0.0038 on January 1, 2024. The 

proposed rate of $0.0038 per contract is 

based on the Exchange’s estimated 

projections for its regulatory costs, 

balanced with the increase in options 

volumes that has persisted into 2023 

and that is likely to continue into 2024; 

the Exchange thus believes that 

resumption of the ORF at this rate on 

January 1, 2024 is reasonable because it 

would permit the Exchange to resume 

assessing an ORF that is designed to 

recover a material portion, but not all, 

of the Exchange’s projected ORF Costs. 

The Exchange would continue 

monitoring ORF Costs in advance of the 

resumption of the ORF and when it 

resumes assessing ORF on January 1, 

2024 and, if the Exchange determines 

that, in light of projected volumes and 

ORF Costs, the ORF rate should be 

further modified to help ensure that 

ORF collections would not exceed a 

material portion of ORF Costs, further 

adjust the ORF by submitting a 

proposed rule change and notifying ATP 

Holders of such change by Trader 

Update. 

The Proposal Is an Equitable Allocation 

of Fees 

The Exchange believes its proposal is 

an equitable allocation of fees among its 

market participants. The Exchange 

believes that the proposed waiver would 

not place certain market participants at 

an unfair disadvantage because all 

options transactions must clear via a 

clearing firm. Such clearing firms can 

then choose to pass through all, a 

portion, or none of the cost of the ORF 

to its customers, i.e., the entering firms. 

As noted above, the ORF is collected 

from ATP Holder clearing firms by the 

OCC on behalf of NYSE American and 

is assessed on all options transactions 

that are cleared at the OCC in the 

Customer range. In addition, the 

Exchange notes that the costs relating to 

monitoring ATP Holders with respect to 

Customer trading activity are generally 

higher than the costs associated with 

monitoring ATP Holders that do not 

engage in Customer trading activity, 

which tends to be more automated and 

less labor-intensive. By contrast, 

regulating ATP Holders that engage in 

Customer trading activity is generally 

more labor intensive and requires a 

greater expenditure of human and 

technical resources as the Exchange 

needs to review not only the trading 

activity on behalf of Customers, but also 

the ATP Holder’s relationship with its 

Customers via more labor-intensive 

exam-based programs. As a result, the 

costs associated with administering the 

customer component of the Exchange’s 

overall regulatory program are 

materially higher than the costs 

associated with administering the noncustomer component (e.g., ATP Holder 

proprietary transactions) of its 

regulatory program. The Exchange 

believes that the proposed reduction of 

ORF from $0.0055 per contract to 

$0.0038 per contract effective January 1, 

2024, along with a temporary waiver of 

the ORF for the three months prior to 

such change, is an equitable allocation 

of fees because the new ORF rate would 

apply equally to all ATP Holders on all 

their transactions that clear in the 

Customer range at the OCC, and the 

Exchange would not assess the ORF on 

any such transactions during the Waiver 

Period. The proposed change also 

would permit the Exchange to 

efficiently adjust the ORF, which is 

applicable to all ATP Holders’ 

transactions that clear in the Customer 

range at the OCC, to an amount 

designed to recover a material portion, 

but not all, of the Exchange’s projected 

ORF Costs. The Exchange also believes 

that recommencing the ORF at the 

decreased rate of $0.0038 per contract 

effective January 1, 2024, unless the 

Exchange determines it necessary to 

further adjust the ORF to ensure that 

ORF collections do not exceed a 

material portion of ORF Costs, is 

equitable because the ORF would 

resume applying equally to all ATP 

Holders on options transactions in the 

Customer range, at a rate designed to 

recover a material portion, but not all, 

of the Exchange’s projected ORF Costs. 

The Proposed Fee Is Not Unfairly 

Discriminatory 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposal is not unfairly discriminatory. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed waiver of the ORF would not 

place certain market participants at an 

unfair disadvantage because all options 

transactions must clear via a clearing 

firm. Such clearing firms can then 

choose to pass through all, a portion, or 

none of the cost of the ORF to its 

customers, i.e., the entering firms. As 

noted above, the ORF is collected from 

ATP Holder clearing firms by the OCC 

on behalf of NYSE American and is 

assessed on options transactions that are 

cleared at the OCC in the Customer 

range. In addition, the Exchange notes 

that the costs relating to monitoring 

ATP Holders with respect to Customer 

trading activity are generally higher 

than the costs associated with 

monitoring ATP Holders that do not 

engage in Customer trading activity, 

which tends to be more automated and 

less labor-intensive. By contrast, 

regulating ATP Holders that engage in 

Customer trading activity is generally 

more labor intensive and requires a 

greater expenditure of human and 

technical resources as the Exchange 

needs to review not only the trading 

activity on behalf of Customers, but also 

the ATP Holder’s relationship with its 

Customers via more labor-intensive 

exam-based programs. As a result, the 

costs associated with administering the 

customer component of the Exchange’s 

overall regulatory program are 

materially higher than the costs 

associated with administering the noncustomer component (e.g., ATP Holder 

proprietary transactions) of its 

regulatory program. Thus, the Exchange 

believes the proposed reduction of ORF 

and accompanying temporary waiver of 

the ORF is not unfairly discriminatory 

because the changes would apply to all 

ATP Holders subject to the ORF and the 

Exchange would provide all such ATP 

Holders with 30 days’ advance notice of 

planned changes to the ORF. The 

Exchange also believes that 

recommencing the ORF on January 1, 

2024 at $0.0038, unless the Exchange 

determines it necessary to further adjust 

the ORF to ensure that ORF collections 

do not exceed a material portion of ORF 

Costs, is not unfairly discriminatory 

because the Exchange would resume 

assessing an ORF designed to recover a 

material portion, but not all, of the 

Exchange’s projected ORF Costs, and 

the ORF would resume applying equally 

to all ATP Holders based on their 

transactions that clear in the Customer 

range at the OCC. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 69977 

14 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

15 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

16 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 17 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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. 

Intramarket Competition. The 

Exchange believes the proposed change 

would not impose an undue burden on 

intramarket competition because the 

ORF is charged to all ATP Holders on 

all their transactions that clear in the 

Customer range at the OCC; thus, the 

amount of ORF imposed is based on the 

amount of Customer volume transacted. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed reduction of the ORF rate and 

temporary waiver of the ORF would not 

place certain market participants at an 

unfair disadvantage because all options 

transactions must clear via a clearing 

firm. Such clearing firms can then 

choose to pass through all, a portion, or 

none of the cost of the ORF to its 

customers, i.e., the entering firms. The 

ORF is collected from ATP Holder 

clearing firms by the OCC on behalf of 

NYSE American and is assessed on all 

options transactions cleared at the OCC 

in the Customer range. The Exchange 

also believes recommencing the ORF on 

January 1, 2024 at $0.0038 (unless the 

Exchange determines it necessary at that 

time to adjust the ORF to ensure that 

ORF collections do not exceed a 

material portion of ORF Costs) would 

not impose an undue burden on 

competition because the proposed 

decreased rate would apply equally to 

all ATP Holders subject to ORF and 

would permit the Exchange to resume 

assessing an ORF that is designed to 

recover a material portion, but not all, 

of the Exchange’s projected ORF Costs 

and the ORF would, as currently, apply 

to all ATP Holders on their options 

transactions that clear in the Customer 

range at the OCC. The Exchange will 

continue to provide advance notice of 

changes to the ORF to all ATP Holders 

via Trader Update to provide ATP 

Holders with sufficient opportunity to 

configure their systems to account 

properly for both the Waiver Period and 

resumption of ORF at a new, lower rate 

on January 1, 2024. 

Intermarket Competition. The 

proposed fee change is not designed to 

address any competitive issues. Rather, 

the proposed change is designed to help 

the Exchange adequately fund its 

regulatory activities while seeking to 

ensure that total collections from 

regulatory fees do not exceed total 

regulatory costs. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change is effective 

upon filing pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) 14 of the Act and 

subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b–4 15

thereunder, because it establishes a due, 

fee, or other charge imposed by the 

Exchange. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of such 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 

under Section 19(b)(2)(B) 16 of the Act to 

determine whether the proposed rule 

change 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 (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

NYSEAMER–2023–48 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–2023–48. 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 (https://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 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also 

will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of the 

Exchange. Do not include personal 

identifiable information in submissions; 

you should submit only information 

that you wish to make available 

publicly. We may redact in part or 

withhold entirely from publication 

submitted material that is obscene or 

subject to copyright protection. All 

submissions should refer to file number 

SR–NYSEAMER–2023–48 and should 

be submitted on or before October 31, 

2023. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.17

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22348 Filed 10–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

[Disaster Declaration #18143 and #18144; 

GEORGIA Disaster Number GA–00158] 

Presidential Declaration Amendment of 

a Major Disaster for the State of 

Georgia 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Amendment 1. 

SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the 

Presidential declaration of a major 

disaster for the State of Georgia (FEMA– 

4738–DR), dated 09/07/2023. 

Incident: Hurricane Idalia. 

Incident Period: 08/30/2023. 

DATES: Issued on 10/02/2023. 

Physical Loan Application Deadline 

Date: 11/06/2023. 

Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan 

Application Deadline Date: 06/07/2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan 

applications to: U.S. Small Business 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1