Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Notices 75631 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The term ‘‘Equity Member’’ is a Member 

authorized by the Exchange to transact business on 

MIAX Pearl Equities. See Exchange Rule 1901. 

4Rebates are indicated by parentheses. See the 

General Notes Section of the Fee Schedule. 

information related to whether the 

reinstatement of UTP in the subject 

security is consistent with the 

maintenance of fair and orderly markets 

and the protection of investors. Rule 

12f–1 further requires a national 

securities exchange seeking to reinstate 

its ability to extend unlisted trading 

privileges in a security to indicate that 

it has provided a copy of such 

application to the issuer of the security, 

as well as to any other national 

securities exchange on which the 

security is listed or admitted to unlisted 

trading privileges. 

The information required by Rule 

12f–1 enables the Commission to make 

the necessary findings under the Act 

prior to granting applications to 

reinstate unlisted trading privileges. 

This information is also made available 

to members of the public who may wish 

to comment upon the applications. 

Without the Rule, the Commission 

would be unable to fulfill these 

statutory responsibilities. 

There are currently 24 national 

securities exchanges subject to Rule 

12f–1. The burden of complying with 

Rule 12f–1 arises when a potential 

respondent seeks to reinstate its ability 

to extend unlisted trading privileges to 

any security for which unlisted trading 

privileges have been suspended by the 

Commission, pursuant to Section 

12(f)(2)(A) of the Act. The staff estimates 

that each application would require 

approximately one hour to complete. 

Thus, each potential respondent would 

incur on average one burden hour in 

complying with the Rule. 

The Commission staff estimates that 

there could be as many as 24 responses 

annually for an aggregate annual hour 

burden for all respondents of 

approximately 24 hours (24 responses × 

1 hour per response). Each respondent’s 

related internal cost of compliance for 

Rule 12f–1 would be approximately 

$242.00 (the cost of one hour of 

professional work of a paralegal needed 

to complete the application). The total 

annual cost of compliance for all 

potential respondents, therefore, is 

approximately $5,808 (24 responses × 

$242.00 per response). 

Compliance with Rule 12f–1 is 

mandatory. Rule 12f–1 does not have a 

record retention requirement per se. 

However, responses made pursuant to 

Rule 12f–1 are subject to the 

recordkeeping requirements of Rules 

17a–3 and 17a–4 of the Act. Information 

received in response to Rule 12f–1 shall 

not be kept confidential; the information 

collected is public information. 

Written comments are invited on: (a) 

whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Commission, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s 

estimates of the burden of the proposed 

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. 

Consideration will be given to 

comments and suggestions submitted by 

January 2, 2024. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

under the PRA unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

Please direct your written comments 

to: David Bottom, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o John 

Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549, or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: October 31, 2023. 

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24370 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98826; File No. SR– 

PEARL–2023–59] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX 

PEARL, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the MIAX Pearl 

Equities Fee Schedule To Extend the 

Sunset Period for the Step-Added 

Liquidity Rebate 

October 30, 2023. 

Pursuant to the provisions of 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 October 18, 2023, MIAX PEARL, LLC 

(‘‘MIAX Pearl’’ 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. 

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 is filing a proposal to 

amend the fee schedule (the ‘‘Fee 

Schedule’’) applicable to MIAX Pearl 

Equities, an equities trading facility of 

the Exchange. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/ 

us-options/pearl-options/rule-filings, at 

MIAX Pearl’s principal office, 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 

Exchange 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 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Section 1)f) of the Fee Schedule to 

modify the expiration month (referred to 

herein as the ‘‘sunset period’’) of the 

required criteria of the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate table. This table 

provides that Equity Members 3 who 

satisfy the required criteria will receive 

the Step-Up Added Liquidity Rebate 

(described below). The Exchange 

originally filed this proposal on October 

12, 2023, (SR–PEARL–2023–57). On 

October 18, 2023, the Exchange 

withdrew SR–PEARL–2023–57 and 

resubmitted this proposal. 

Background 

The Exchange currently provides a 

standard rebate of ($0.0024) 4 per share 

for executions of orders in securities 

priced at or above $1.00 per share that 

add displayed liquidity to the Exchange. 

The Exchange also currently offers 

various volume-based tiers and 

incentives through which an Equity 

Member may receive an enhanced 


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5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 95614 

(August 26, 2022), 87 FR 53813 (September 1, 2022) 

(SR–PEARL–2022–33). 

6See Fee Schedule, Section 1)b), Liquidity 

Indicator Codes and Associated Fees. 

7The term ‘‘Step-Up ADAV as a % of TCV’’ 

means ADAV as a percent of TCV in the relevant 

baseline month subtracted from the current month’s 

ADAV as a percent of TCV. See the Definitions 

Section of the Fee Schedule. The Exchange notes 

that the Step-Up Added Liquidity Rebate does not 

apply to executions of orders in securities priced 

below $1.00 per share or executions of orders that 

constitute added non-displayed liquidity. 

8The Exchange excludes from its calculation of 

ADAV and ADV shares added or removed on any 

day that the Exchange’s system experiences a 

disruption that lasts for more than 60 minutes 

during regular trading hours, on any day with a 

scheduled early market close, and on the ‘‘Russell 

Reconstitution Day’’ (typically the last Friday in 

June). Routed shares are not included in the ADAV 

or ADV calculation. With prior notice to the 

Exchange, an Equity Member may aggregate ADAV 

or ADV with other Equity Members that control, are 

controlled by, or are under common control with 

such Equity Member (as evidenced on such Equity 

Member’s Form BD). See the Definitions Section of 

the Fee Schedule. 

9The Exchange excludes from its calculation of 

TCV volume on any given day that the Exchange’s 

system experiences a disruption that lasts for more 

than 60 minutes during Regular Trading Hours, on 

any day with a scheduled early market close, and 

on the ‘‘Russell Reconstitution Day’’ (typically the 

last Friday in June). See the Definitions Section of 

the Fee Schedule. 

10The Exchange notes that at the end of the 

sunset period, the Step-Up Added Liquidity Rebate 

will no longer apply unless the Exchange files 

another 19b–4 Filing with the Commission to 

amend the criteria terms. 

11See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 97662 

(June 7, 2023), 88 FR 38576 (June 13, 2023) (SR– 

MEMX–2023–09); see also MEMX LLC (‘‘MEMX’’) 

Fee Schedule, Liquidity Provision Tiers, Tier 6, 

available at https://info.memxtrading.com/feeschedule/ (last visited September 29, 2023). 

12See id. 

13 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

rebate for executions of orders that add 

displayed liquidity to the Exchange by 

achieving the specified criteria that 

corresponds to a particular tier/ 

incentive. 

In particular, the Exchange adopted a 

volume based pricing incentive, referred 

to as the ‘‘Step-Up Added Liquidity 

Rebate,’’ in which qualifying Equity 

Members receive an enhanced rebate of 

($0.0031) per share for executions of 

orders in securities priced at or above 

$1.00 per share that add displayed 

liquidity to the Exchange.5 The 

enhanced rebate provided by the StepUp Added Liquidity Rebate applies to 

Liquidity Indicator Codes AA (adds 

liquidity, displayed order, Tape A), AB 

(adds liquidity, displayed order, Tape B) 

and AC (adds liquidity, displayed order, 

Tape C).6

On September 27, 2023, the Exchange 

filed SR–PEARL–2023–50 which 

amended the baseline month from May 

2023 to July 2023 and extended the 

sunset period from September 29, 2023 

to January 31, 2024. These changes were 

scheduled to become effective on 

October 1, 2023. However, prior to these 

changes becoming effective the 

Exchange filed SR–PEARL–2023–54 

which superseded SR–PEARL–2023–50 

and reverted the baseline month back to 

May 2023 and changed the sunset 

period to November 30, 2023, with an 

effective implementation date of 

October 1, 2023. Insofar as Equity 

Members are concerned, the baseline 

month has not changed, as it was May 

2023 for the month of September and 

remains May 2023 for the month of 

October. The only substantive change 

for Equity Members is the extension of 

the sunset period from September 2023 

to November 2023. 

Equity Members qualify for the StepUp Added Liquidity Rebate by 

achieving a ‘‘Step-Up ADAV as a % of 

TCV’’ 7 of at least 0.03% over the 

baseline month of May 2023. Average 

daily added volume (‘‘ADAV’’) means 

average daily added volume calculated 

as the number of shares added per day 

and average daily volume (‘‘ADV’’) 

means average daily volume calculated 

as the number of shares added or 

removed, combined, per day. ADAV and 

ADV are calculated on a monthly basis.8

Total consolidated volume (‘‘TCV’’) 

means total consolidated volume 

calculated as the volume in shares 

reported by all exchanges and reporting 

facilities to a consolidated transaction 

reporting plan for the month for which 

the fees apply.9 For example, if an 

Equity Member had an ADAV as a 

percent of TCV of 0.01% in May 2023, 

then that Equity Member has to achieve 

an ADAV as a percent of TCV equal to 

or greater than 0.04% in any subsequent 

month in order to qualify for the StepUp Added Liquidity Rebate. 

Proposal 

The Exchange now proposes to amend 

Section 1)f) of the Fee Schedule to 

modify the required criteria for Equity 

Members to receive the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate. In particular, the 

Exchange proposes that the criteria to 

qualify for the Step-Up Added Liquidity 

Rebate will expire no later than 

November 30, 2023.10 The Exchange 

will issue an alert to market participants 

should the Exchange determine that the 

Step-Up Added Liquidity Rebate will 

expire earlier than November 30, 2023, 

or if the Exchange determines to amend 

the criteria or rate applicable to the 

Step-Up Added Liquidity Rebate prior 

to the end of the sunset period. The 

Exchange notes that at least one other 

competing equities exchange provides a 

similar ‘‘sunset period’’ for one of its 

enhanced rebates subject to the same 

baseline month as the Exchange 

proposes.11

The Exchange does not propose any 

other changes to the qualifying criteria 

for Equity Members to receive the StepUp Added Liquidity Rebate. The 

Exchange also does not propose to 

amend the amount of the enhanced 

rebate of ($0.0031) per share for Equity 

Members that qualify for the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate. Finally, the 

Exchange does not propose to change 

the baseline ADAV of 0.00% of TCV 

used for firms that become Equity 

Members of the Exchange after May 

2023 for the purpose of the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate calculation. 

The purpose of this proposed change 

is to simply extend the sunset period 

two months, from September 2023 to 

November 2023. The Exchange believes 

that the Step-Up Added Liquidity 

Rebate will continue to provide an 

incentive for Equity Members to strive 

for higher ADAV on the Exchange 

(above their ADAV in the baseline 

month of May 2023) to receive the 

enhanced rebate for qualifying 

executions of orders in securities priced 

at or above $1.00 per share that add 

displayed liquidity to the Exchange. The 

Exchange believes that with the 

extension of the sunset period the StepUp Added Liquidity Rebate will 

continue to encourage the submission of 

additional displayed added liquidity to 

the Exchange, thereby promoting price 

discovery and contributing to a deeper 

and more liquid market, which benefits 

all market participants and enhances the 

attractiveness of the Exchange as a 

trading venue. The Exchange notes that 

earlier this year, MEMX filed a proposal 

to use May 2023 as the baseline month 

for one of its enhanced Liquidity 

Provision Tiers (Tier 6) for MEMX’s 

members to receive an enhanced rebate 

and used November 30, 2023, as the 

sunset period.12 The purpose of 

including the proposed sunset period in 

the Fee Schedule is to provide clarity to 

Equity Members that, unless the 

Exchange determines to amend or 

otherwise modify the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate, the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate will expire at the end 

of the sunset period. 

Implementation 

The proposed changes will become 

immediately effective. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal to amend its Fee Schedule is 

consistent with section 6(b) of the Act 13


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14 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

15See MIAX’s ‘‘The market at a glance/MTD 

AVERAGE,’’ available at https:// 

www.miaxglobal.com/ (Data as of 9/1/2023—9/28/ 

2023). 

16See id. 

17See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 

(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37499 (June 29, 2005). 18See supra note 11. 19See id. 

in general, and furthers the objectives of 

section 6(b)(4) of the Act 14 in particular, 

in that it is an equitable allocation of 

reasonable fees and other charges among 

its Equity Members and issuers and 

other persons using its facilities and is 

not designed to permit unfair 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Exchange operates in a highly 

fragmented and competitive market in 

which market participants can readily 

direct their order flow to competing 

venues if they deem fee levels at a 

particular venue to be excessive or 

incentives to be insufficient. More 

specifically, the Exchange is only one of 

sixteen registered equities exchanges, 

and there are a number of alternative 

trading systems and other off-exchange 

venues, to which market participants 

may direct their order flow. As of 

September 29, 2023, based on publicly 

available information, no single 

registered equities exchange currently 

has more than approximately 15–16% of 

the total market share of executed 

volume of equities trading for the month 

of September 2023.15 Thus, in such a 

low-concentrated and highly 

competitive market, no single equities 

exchange possesses significant pricing 

power in the execution of order flow, 

and the Exchange represents 

approximately 1.79% of the overall 

market share as of September 29, 2023, 

for the month of September 2023.16 The 

Commission and the courts have 

repeatedly expressed their preference 

for competition over regulatory 

intervention in determining prices, 

products, and services in the securities 

markets. In Regulation NMS, the 

Commission highlighted the importance 

of market forces in determining prices 

and SRO revenues and also recognized 

that current regulation of the market 

system ‘‘has been remarkably successful 

in promoting market competition in its 

broader forms that are most important to 

investors and listed companies.’’ 17

The Exchange believes that the evershifting market share among the 

exchanges from month to month 

demonstrates that market participants 

can shift order flow or discontinue to 

reduce use of certain categories of 

products, in response to new or 

different pricing structures being 

introduced into the market. 

Accordingly, competitive forces 

constrain the Exchange’s transaction 

fees and rebates, and market 

participants can readily trade on 

competing venues if they deem pricing 

levels at those other venues to be more 

favorable. The Exchange believes the 

proposal reflects a reasonable and 

competitive pricing structure designed 

to incentivize market participants to 

direct additional orders that add 

liquidity to the Exchange, which the 

Exchange believes would deepen 

liquidity and promote market quality on 

the Exchange to the benefit of all market 

participants. 

The Exchange notes that volumebased incentives and discounts (such as 

tiers) have been widely adopted by 

exchanges (including the Exchange), 

and believes they are reasonable, 

equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because they are 

available to all Equity Members on an 

equal basis, provide additional benefits 

or discounts that are reasonably related 

to the value of an exchange’s market 

quality associated with higher levels of 

market activity (such as higher levels of 

liquidity provision and/or growth 

patterns), and the introduction of higher 

volumes of orders into the price and 

volume discovery process. 

The Exchange believes that the StepUp Added Liquidity Rebate, as modified 

by the proposed change to the sunset 

period, is reasonable, equitable and not 

unfairly discriminatory as the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate will continue to 

be available to all Equity Members on an 

equal basis, and is reasonably designed 

to encourage Equity Members to 

maintain or increase their order flow in 

liquidity-adding volume. The Exchange 

believes this will continue to promote 

price discovery, enhance liquidity and 

market quality, and contribute to a more 

robust and well-balanced market 

ecosystem on the Exchange to the 

benefit of all Equity Members and 

market participants. The Exchange also 

notes that MEMX filed a proposal which 

also uses May 2023 as the baseline 

month as well as November 2023 as its 

expiration month, for one of its 

enhanced Liquidity Provision Tiers 

(Tier 6) for its members to receive an 

enhanced rebate.18

The Exchange believes it is 

reasonable, equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to amend the sunset 

period in the Fee Schedule for the StepUp Added Liquidity Rebate because it 

will provide clarity to Equity Members 

that, unless the Exchange determines to 

amend or otherwise modify the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate, the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate will expire at 

the end of the sunset period. This will 

allow Equity Members to take into 

account that the enhanced rebate 

provided for by the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate may be discontinued at 

the end of sunset period unless the 

Exchange announces otherwise and files 

a revised proposal with the 

Commission. The Exchange further 

notes that it will issue an alert to market 

participants should the Exchange 

determine that the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate will expire earlier than 

November 30, 2023, or if the Exchange 

determines to amend the criteria or rate 

applicable to the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate prior to the end of the 

sunset period. At least one other 

competing equities exchange provided a 

similar sunset period in its fee schedule 

for one of its enhanced rebates.19

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change will not impose any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

Intramarket Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposal will impose any burden on 

intramarket competition not necessary 

or appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. The Exchange 

believes the Step-Up Added Liquidity 

Rebate, as modified by this proposal, 

will continue to incentivize Equity 

Members to submit additional orders 

that add liquidity to the Exchange, 

thereby contributing to a deeper and 

more liquid market and promoting price 

discovery and market quality on the 

Exchange to the benefit of all market 

participants and enhancing the 

attractiveness of the Exchange as a 

trading venue, which the Exchange 

believes, in turn, would continue to 

encourage market participants to direct 

additional order flow to the Exchange. 

Greater liquidity benefits all Equity 

Members by providing more trading 

opportunities and encourages Equity 

Members to send additional orders to 

the Exchange, thereby contributing to 

robust levels of liquidity, which benefits 

all market participants. As described 

above, the opportunity to qualify for the 

proposed new Step-Up Added Liquidity 

Rebate, and thus receive the proposed 

rebate for qualifying executions of 

orders in securities priced at or above 

$1.00 per share that add displayed 

volume will continue to be available to 

all Equity Members that meet the 

associated volume requirement, and the 


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20See supra note 11. 

21See id. 

22See supra note 15. 

23See id. 

24See supra note 11. 

25See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 

(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005). 

26See NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525, 539 

(D.C. Cir. 2010) (quoting Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 59039 (December 2, 2008), 73 FR 

74770, 74782–83 (December 9, 2008) (SR–NYSE– 

2006–21)). 

27 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

28 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

Exchange believes the proposed 

extension of the sunset period is 

reasonably related to the enhanced 

market quality that the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate is designed to promote. 

As such the Exchange does not believe 

the proposed changes would impose 

any burden on intramarket competition 

that is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purpose of the Act. 

The Exchange believes its proposal to 

extend the sunset period in the Fee 

Schedule for the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate will not impose any 

burden on intramarket competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act because it 

will provide clarity to Equity Members 

that, unless the Exchange determines to 

amend or otherwise modify the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate, the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate will be 

discontinued at the end of the sunset 

period. This will allow Equity Members 

to take into account that the enhanced 

rebate provided for by the Step-Up 

Added Liquidity Rebate may be 

discontinued at the end of the sunset 

period unless the Exchange announces 

otherwise. The Exchange further notes 

that it will issue an alert to market 

participants should the Exchange 

determine that the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate will expire earlier than 

November 30, 2023, or if the Exchange 

determines to amend the criteria or rate 

applicable to the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate prior to the end of the 

sunset period. At least one other 

competing equities exchange provided a 

similar sunset period in its fee schedule 

for one of its enhanced rebates.20

Intermarket Competition 

The Exchange believes its proposal 

will benefit competition, and the 

Exchange notes that it operates in a 

highly competitive market. The 

Exchange notes that by extending its 

sunset period to November 2023, its 

program has a sunset period similar to 

that of at least one other equities 

exchange.21 Equity Members have 

numerous alternative venues they may 

participate on and direct their order 

flow to, including fifteen other equities 

exchanges and numerous alternative 

trading systems and other off-exchange 

venues. As noted above, as of September 

29, 2023, based on publicly available 

information, no single registered 

equities exchange currently has more 

than approximately 15–16% of the total 

market share of executed volume of 

equities trading for the month of 

September 2023.22 Thus, in such a lowconcentrated and highly competitive 

market, no single equities exchange 

possesses significant pricing power in 

the execution of order flow, and the 

Exchange represents approximately 

1.79% of the overall market share as of 

September 29, 2023 for the month of 

September 2023.23 Moreover, the 

Exchange believes that the ever-shifting 

market share among the exchanges from 

month to month demonstrates that 

market participants can shift order flow 

in response to new or different pricing 

structures being introduced to the 

market. Accordingly, competitive forces 

constrain the Exchange’s transaction 

fees and rebates generally, including 

with respect to the criteria for Equity 

Members to achieve the Step-Up Added 

Liquidity Rebate, and market 

participants can readily choose to send 

their orders to other exchanges and offexchange venues if they deem rebate 

criteria at those other venues to be more 

favorable. 

As described above, the proposed 

changes represent a competitive 

proposal through which the Exchange is 

seeking to continue to encourage 

additional order flow to the Exchange 

through a volume-based incentive that 

is comparable to the criteria for volumebased incentives adopted by at least one 

other competing exchange that has a 

similar sunset period for a specific 

enhanced rebate that adds liquidity to 

that market.24 Accordingly, the 

Exchange believes that its proposal 

would not burden, but rather promote, 

intermarket competition by enabling it 

to better compete with other exchanges 

that offer similar pricing incentives to 

market participants that achieve certain 

volume criteria and thresholds. 

Additionally, the Commission has 

repeatedly expressed its preference for 

competition over regulatory 

intervention in determining prices, 

products, and services in the securities 

markets. Specifically, in Regulation 

NMS, the Commission highlighted the 

importance of market forces in 

determining prices and SRO revenues 

and, also, recognized that current 

regulation of the market system ‘‘has 

been remarkably successful in 

promoting market competition in its 

broader forms that are most important to 

investors and listed companies.’’ 25 The 

fact that this market is competitive has 

also long been recognized by the courts. 

In NetCoalition v. Securities and 

Exchange Commission, the D.C. circuit 

stated: ‘‘[n]o one disputes that 

competition for order flow is ‘fierce.’ 

. . . As the SEC explained, ‘[i]n the U.S. 

national market system, buyers and 

sellers of securities, and the brokerdealers that act as their routing agents, 

have a wide range of choices of where 

to route orders for execution’; [and] ‘no 

exchange can afford to take its market 

share percentages for granted’ because 

‘no exchange possesses a monopoly, 

regulatory or otherwise, in the execution 

of order flow from broker 

dealers’. . .’’.26 Accordingly, the 

Exchange does not believe its proposed 

pricing changes impose any burden on 

competition that is not necessary or 

appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,27 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 28 thereunder. 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 (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 


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29 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

PEARL–2023–59 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–PEARL–2023–59. 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–PEARL–2023–59 and should be 

submitted on or before November 24, 

2023. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.29

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24271 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

[License No. 02/02–0535] 

Argentum Capital Partners, LP; 

Surrender of License of Small 

Business Investment Company 

Pursuant to the authority granted to 

the United States Small Business 

Administration under the Small 

Business Investment Act of 1958, as 

amended, under section 309 of the Act 

and section 107.1900 of the Small 

Business Administration Rules and 

Regulations (13 CFR 107.1900) to 

function as a small business investment 

company under the Small Business 

Investment Company License No. 02/ 

02–0535 issued to Argentum Capital 

Partners, LP said license is hereby 

declared null and void. 

Bailey DeVries, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Investment 

and Innovation, United States Small Business 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24298 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

[License No. 05/05–0301] 

Monroe Capital Partners Fund LP; 

Surrender of License of Small 

Business Investment Company 

Pursuant to the authority granted to 

the United States Small Business 

Administration under the Small 

Business Investment Act of 1958, as 

amended, under section 309 of the Act 

and section 107.1900 of the Small 

Business Administration Rules and 

Regulations (13 CFR 107.1900) to 

function as a small business investment 

company under the Small Business 

Investment Company License No. 05/ 

05–0301 issued to Monroe Capital 

Partners Fund LP, said license is hereby 

declared null and void. 

Bailey Devries, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Investment 

and Innovation, United States Small Business 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24303 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

[Disaster Declaration #20026 and #20027; 

FLORIDA Disaster Number FL–20000] 

Administrative Declaration of a 

Disaster for the State of Florida 

AGENCY: Small Business Administration. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This is a notice of an 

Administrative declaration of a disaster 

for the State of Florida dated 10/30/ 

2023. 

Incident: Tornado. 

Incident Period: 10/12/2023. 

DATES: Issued on 10/30/2023. 

Physical Loan Application Deadline 

Date: 12/29/2023. 

Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan 

Application Deadline Date: 07/30/2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan 

applications to: U.S. Small Business 

Administration, Processing and 

Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport 

Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alan Escobar, Office of Disaster 

Recovery & Resilience, U.S. Small 

Business Administration, 409 3rd Street 

SW, Suite 6050, Washington, DC 20416, 

(202) 205–6734. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that as a result of the 

Administrator’s disaster declaration, 

applications for disaster loans may be 

filed at the address listed above or other 

locally announced locations. 

The following areas have been 

determined to be adversely affected by 

the disaster: 

Primary Counties: Citrus. 

Contiguous Counties: 

Florida: Hernando, Levy, Marion, 

Sumter. 

The Interest Rates are: 

Percent 

For Physical Damage: 

Homeowners with Credit Available Elsewhere ...................... 5.000 

Homeowners without Credit 

Available Elsewhere .............. 2.500 

Businesses with Credit Available Elsewhere ...................... 8.000 

Businesses without Credit 

Available Elsewhere .............. 4.000 

Non-Profit Organizations with 

Credit Available Elsewhere ... 2.375 

Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere ..................................... 2.375 

For Economic Injury: 

Business and Small Agricultural 

Cooperatives without Credit 

Available Elsewhere .............. 4.000 

Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere ..................................... 2.375 

The number assigned to this disaster 

for physical damage is 20026C and for 

economic injury is 200270. 

The State which received an EIDL 

Declaration is Florida. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1