30806 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2018 / Notices 

12 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Each capitalized term not otherwise defined 

herein has its respective meaning as set forth in the 

Rules, By-Laws and Organization Certificate of The 

Depository Trust Company (‘‘Rules’’), available at 

http://www.dtcc.com/∼/media/Files/Downloads/ 

legal/rules/dtc_rules.pdf. 

4Available at http://www.dtcc.com/∼/media/ 

Files/Downloads/legal/issue-eligibility/eligibility/ 

operational-arrangements.pdf. 

5Pursuant to the Rules, the term ‘‘Procedures’’ 

means the Procedures, service guides, and 

regulations of DTC adopted pursuant to Rule 27, as 

amended from time to time. See Rule 1, Section 1, 

supra note 3, at 13. 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 39852 

(April 10, 1998), 63 FR 19545 (April 20, 1998) 

(‘‘1998 Release’’). 

7See OA, supra note 4 at 1–3 (setting forth 

requirements for Securities to be made eligible for 

DTC book-entry services). 

8See OA, supra note 4 at 43–44. 

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 

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 (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

GEMX–2018–22 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–GEMX–2018–22. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549 on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. 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–GEMX–2018–22, and 

should be submitted on or before July 

20, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.12

Eduardo A. Aleman 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13986 Filed 6–28–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83511; File No. SR–DTC– 

2018–005] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Depository Trust Company; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend the 

DTC Operational Arrangements To Add 

Clarifying Text Relating to the 

Processing of Unit Investment Trust 

Securities Through the DTC Investor’s 

Voluntary Redemptions and Sales 

Service 

June 25, 2018. 

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 June 20, 

2018, The Depository Trust Company 

(‘‘DTC’’) filed with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

the proposed rule change as described 

in Items I, II and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by the clearing 

agency. 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 3 consists of 

proposed modifications to the DTC 

Operational Arrangements (Necessary 

for Securities to Become and Remain 

Eligible for DTC Services) (‘‘OA’’) 4 to 

provide enhanced transparency within 

DTC’s Procedures 5 relating to 

requirements for Securities issued by 

unit investment trusts (‘‘Units’’) to be 

processed through DTC’s Investor’s 

Voluntary Redemptions and Sales 

Service (‘‘IVORS’’), as described below. 

II. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

clearing agency 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 

clearing agency has prepared 

summaries, set forth in sections A, B, 

and C below, of the most significant 

aspects of such statements. 

(A) Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

1. Purpose 

The proposed rule change consists of 

proposed modifications to the OA to 

provide enhanced transparency within 

the DTC Procedures relating to DTC’s 

requirements for Units to be processed 

through IVORS, as discussed below. 

Background 

A unit investment trust is an 

investment company that buys and 

holds a generally fixed portfolio of 

stocks, bonds or other securities for a 

fixed period of time. Units are sold by 

a sponsor, which is the issuer of the 

Units, to investors who receive a share 

of principal and dividends, or interest. 

When Units mature, an investor may 

redeem matured Units with the transfer 

agent for the Units, or sell Units to the 

sponsor for a cash payment (such 

redemptions and sales jointly referred to 

herein as ‘‘Redemptions’’).6 The sponsor 

may also allow a holder of maturing 

Units to ‘‘rollover’’ the Units by 

redeeming the maturing Units for a 

comparable issue of Units (‘‘Rollover’’). 

Units that meet DTC’s eligibility 

requirements 7 may be Deposited for 

book-entry services at DTC and be held 

by Participants on behalf of investors. 

Redemptions and Rollovers of Units 

held at DTC must be processed through 

IVORS.8 IVORS allows a Participant to 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2018 / Notices 30807 

9See 1998 Release, supra note 6, and Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 50279 (August 27, 2004), 

69 FR 54169 (‘‘2004 Release’’). 

10See id. 

11 DTC’s FAST program allows a transfer agent 

which is approved by DTC to be a ‘‘FAST Agent’’ 

to act as custodian for DTC and increase or decrease 

the amounts of a balance certificate representing 

Securities eligible for DTC book-entry services. See 

OA, supra note 4 at 15. 

12See 1998 Release, supra note 6. 

13See supra note 9. 

14See supra note 12. 15 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

16See supra note 9. 

17 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

18 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f). 

surrender Units for value via bookentry, which Units are processed in 

accordance with standing instructions 

(‘‘Standing Instructions’’) provided by 

the sponsor or transfer agent for the 

Units through DTC’s Participant 

Terminal System (‘‘PTS’’),9 an 

electronic interface that allows 

Participants to submit instructions to 

DTC and make inquiries in DTC’s 

system. The transfer agent and the 

sponsor must each maintain a DTC 

Participant Account in order to facilitate 

the settlement of Redemptions.10

In this regard, and as approved in the 

1998 Release, in order to be eligible for 

processing through IVORS, (i) Units 

must be DTC-eligible and held in DTC’s 

FAST program,11 (ii) the transfer agent, 

which is the Fast Agent for the Units, 

must be a DTC Participant and (iii) the 

sponsor, or the sponsor’s clearing agent, 

i.e., a Participant that acts on the 

sponsor’s behalf with respect to the 

settlement of transactions in Units 

issued by the sponsor, must be a DTC 

Participant (‘‘IVORS Eligibility 

Requirements’’).12

As indicated above, the OA currently 

states the requirement that IVORS must 

be used for the processing of 

Redemptions and Rollovers for Units 

held at DTC. The applicable OA text 

does not include references to 

requirements relating to IVORS 

processing that were approved in the 

1998 and 2004 Releases, in particular: 

(i) The use of Standing Instructions by 

a sponsor and/or FAST Agent 13 and (ii) 

the IVORS Eligibility Requirements.14

Pursuant to this rule filing, in order to 

provide enhanced transparency within 

the OA to users of DTC services with 

regard to the use of IVORS for the 

processing of Redemptions and 

Rollovers, DTC proposes to amend the 

OA to include text stating these 

requirements. 

In addition, currently existing text in 

the OA relating to the processing of 

Units uses the term ‘‘UIT’’ 

interchangeably to describe both a unit 

investment trust and Units. In order to 

further enhance the transparency of the 

text of the Subject Section, as defined 

below, to more clearly distinguish 

between unit investment trusts and the 

securities issued by them, DTC would 

revise the applicable OA text to define 

Securities issued by unit investment 

trusts as ‘‘Units.’’ The text would 

continue to refer to unit investment 

trusts as UITs. 

Proposed Changes to the OA 

Pursuant to the proposed rule change, 

DTC would amend the OA to revise 

Section VI.C.1.a. (Use of DTC’s 

Investor’s Voluntary Redemptions and 

Sales to sponsor) (‘‘Subject Section’’), 

relating to Redemption and Rollover 

processing through IVORS, to add text 

stating (i) the IVORS Eligibility 

Requirements and (ii) a provision 

relating to the processing of 

Redemptions and Rollovers in 

accordance with Standing Instructions 

provided by the sponsor or FAST Agent 

for the Units, as described above. 

Specifically, the proposed rule change 

would add the following within the 

existing text of that section as it relates 

to the description of Redemption and 

Rollover activities: 

‘‘IVORS will only be available for 

these activities if (1) the subject Unit is 

DTC-eligible, (2) the subject Unit is held 

through the FAST program, (3) the 

FAST Agent for the Unit is a Participant 

of DTC, and (4) the Unit’s lead sponsor 

or its clearing agent is a Participant. 

Redemptions and rollovers are 

processed in accordance with standing 

instructions provided by the FAST 

Agent and/or sponsor of the Unit 

through PTS.’’ 

In addition, DTC would revise the text 

of the Subject Section to define 

Securities issued by unit investment 

trusts (i.e., Units, as defined above) as 

‘‘Units,’’ as described above. 

Effective Date 

The proposed rule change would 

become effective upon filing with the 

Commission. 

2. Statutory Basis 

Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 15 requires 

that the rules of the clearing agency be 

designed, inter alia, to promote the 

prompt and accurate clearance and 

settlement of securities transactions. 

DTC believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with this provision 

of the Act because by adding text within 

the Procedures set forth in the OA 

regarding DTC’s requirements for the 

processing of Redemptions and 

Rollovers of Units through IVORS and 

more clearly distinguishing in the text 

of the Subject Section between unit 

investment trusts and Units, the 

proposed rule change would provide 

enhanced transparency for Participants 

with respect to the Procedures relating 

to such processing, including better 

facilitating Participants’ understanding 

of the requirements relating to the 

processing of Units held by them at 

DTC. Therefore, by providing 

Participants with enhanced 

transparency with regard to the 

Procedures relating to the processing of 

Redemptions and Rollovers of Units 

through IVORS, and therefore 

facilitating Participants ability to 

understand the requirements relating to 

the processing of Units held by them at 

DTC, DTC believes that the proposed 

rule change would promote the prompt 

and accurate clearance and settlement of 

securities transactions consistent with 

the Act. 

(B) Clearing Agency’s Statement on 

Burden on Competition 

DTC does not believe that the 

proposed rule change would have any 

impact on competition. The proposed 

rule change would merely provide 

enhanced transparency with respect to 

existing Procedures relating to the 

processing of Redemptions and 

Rollovers through IVORS by adding text 

to the OA that is consistent with 

requirements previously approved by 

the Commission.16 Therefore, the 

proposed rule change would not affect 

the rights or obligations of Participants, 

and as such, would not impact 

competition. 

(C) Clearing Agency’s Statement on 

Comments on the Proposed Rule 

Change Received From Members, 

Participants, or Others 

Written comments relating to this 

proposed rule change have not been 

solicited or received. DTC will notify 

the Commission of any written 

comments received by DTC. 

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) 

of the Act 17 and paragraph (f) of Rule 

19b–4 thereunder.18 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 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
30808 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2018 / Notices 

19 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 82358 

(December 19, 2017), 82 FR 61054 (December 26, 

2017) (SR–NYSEAMER–2017–38). 

5The month immediately preceding a 

replacement class’s addition to the Pilot Program 

(i.e., June) would not be used for purposes of the 

analysis for determining the replacement class. 

Thus, a replacement class to be added on the 

second trading day following July 1, 2018 would be 

identified based on The Option Clearing 

Corporation’s trading volume data from December 

1, 2017 through May 31, 2018. The Exchange will 

announce the replacement issues to the Exchange’s 

membership through a Trader Update. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

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– 

DTC–2018–005 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–DTC–2018–005. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549 on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of DTC and on DTCC’s website 

(http://dtcc.com/legal/sec-rulefilings.aspx). 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–DTC– 

2018–005 and should be submitted on 

or before July 20, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.19

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13980 Filed 6–28–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83507; File No. SR– 

NYSEAMER–2018–33] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

American LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Commentary 

.02 to Rule 960NY in Order To Extend 

the Penny Pilot in Options Classes in 

Certain Issues Through December 31, 

2018 

June 25, 2018. 

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 June 21, 

2018, NYSE American LLC (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE American’’) 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 

Commentary .02 to Rule 960NY in order 

to extend the Penny Pilot in options 

classes in certain issues (‘‘Pilot 

Program’’) previously approved by the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) through December 31, 

2018. The Pilot Program is currently 

scheduled to expire on June 30, 2018. 

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. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange hereby proposes to 

amend Commentary .02 to Rule 960NY 

to extend the time period of the Pilot 

Program,4 which is currently scheduled 

to expire on June 30, 2018, through 

December 31, 2018. The Exchange also 

proposes that the date to replace issues 

in the Pilot Program that have been 

delisted be revised to the second trading 

day following July 1, 2018.5 The 

Exchange believes that extending the 

Pilot would allow for further analysis of 

the Pilot Program and a determination 

of how the Pilot Program should be 

structured in the future. 

This filing does not propose any 

substantive changes to the Pilot 

Program: All classes currently 

participating will remain the same and 

all minimum increments will remain 

unchanged. The Exchange believes the 

benefits to public customers and other 

market participants who will be able to 

express their true prices to buy and sell 

options have been demonstrated to 

outweigh the increase in quote traffic. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The proposed rule change is 

consistent with Section 6(b) 6 of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’), in general, and furthers the 

objectives of Section 6(b)(5),7 in 

particular, in that it is designed to 

prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, to foster 

cooperation and coordination with 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES