35302 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 143 / Wednesday, July 25, 2018 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83559 

(June 29, 2018), 83 FR 31589 (July 6, 2018) (SR– 

FINRA–2018–013). 

4For avoidance of doubt, the Exchange notes that 

a firm that pays a fee for a FIX Port to connect to 

the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret will also be liable 

for an additional fee to connect to the FINRA/ 

Nasdaq TRF Chicago. 

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

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83670; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2018–056] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend Rule 

7015(b) To Provide for Port 

Connectivity the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade 

Reporting Facility Chicago 

July 19, 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 July 6, 

2018, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 

(‘‘Nasdaq’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 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 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 proposes to amend the 

Exchange’s transaction fees at Rule 

7015(b) to provide for port connectivity 

[sic] the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting 

Facility Chicago, as described further 

below. The text of the proposed rule 

change is available on the Exchange’s 

website at http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.

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 

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 

Rules 7015(b) to establish fees for 

Financial Information Exchange or 

‘‘FIX’’ Port connectivity to the FINRA/ 

Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility 

Chicago (‘‘FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Chicago’’). The FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Chicago is a second iteration of the 

FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility 

(now known as the FINRA/Nasdaq 

Trade Reporting Facility Carteret or 

‘‘FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret’’) that the 

Commission approved on June 29, 

2018.3 The FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Chicago 

is expected to launch in September 

2018. 

The proposal will amend Rule 

7015(b), which presently charges a $500 

per port per month fee for FIX Ports to 

connect to the ‘‘FINRA/Nasdaq Trade 

Reporting Facility, ORF, and TRACE.’’ 

The proposal will amend this provision 

of the Rule to: (i) Refer to the FINRA/ 

Nasdaq Trade Facility by its new name, 

the ‘‘FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret’’; (ii) 

apply a $500 per port per month fee to 

FIX Ports to connect to the FINRA/ 

Nasdaq TRF Chicago; and (3) waive this 

fee for FIX Port connections to the 

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Chicago until 

November 1, 2018 so as to encourage 

firms to test connectivity to the new 

facility and also to provide them with a 

transition period to adjust to the new 

fees. As of November 1, 2018, the same 

fee that the Exchange charges for FIX 

Ports to connect to the FINRA/Nasdaq 

TRF Carteret will apply to FIX Port 

connections to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Chicago.4

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,5 in general, and furthers the 

objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) 

of the Act,6 in particular, in that it 

provides for the equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues, fees and other charges 

among members and issuers and other 

persons using any facility, and is not 

designed to permit unfair 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Exchange believes that the 

Exchange’s proposal to charge a fee for 

FIX Ports that connect to the FINRA/ 

Nasdaq TRF Chicago is reasonable 

because the proposed fee accounts for 

the costs to the Exchange of developing 

and maintaining connectivity to the 

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Chicago. The 

proposed fee is also reasonable because 

it mirrors a fee that the Exchange 

already charges for connections to the 

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret, which is 

the sister facility to the FINRA/Nasdaq 

TRF Chicago and to which the Chicago 

facility will be identical in all material 

respects. 

The Exchange also believes that it is 

reasonable to waive the aforementioned 

fee for a brief transition period to allow 

participants to test and configure their 

connections to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Chicago and also to facilitate an 

adjustment to the new fees. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposal is an equitable allocation and 

is not unfairly discriminatory because 

the Exchange will apply the same fee— 

and the same fee waiver—to all 

similarly situated members that choose 

to connect to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Chicago. It is also equitable to 

temporarily waive fees for connecting to 

the new facility because doing so will 

ease the burden of testing and 

configuring the connections. 

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 not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. In terms of 

inter-market competition, the Exchange 

notes that it operates in a highly 

competitive market in which market 

participants can readily favor competing 

venues if they deem fee levels at a 

particular venue to be excessive, or 

rebate opportunities available at other 

venues to be more favorable. In such an 

environment, the Exchange must 

continually adjust its fees to remain 

competitive with other exchanges and 

with alternative trading systems that 

have been exempted from compliance 

with the statutory standards applicable 

to exchanges. Because competitors are 

free to modify their own fees in 

response, and because market 

participants may readily adjust their 

order routing practices, the Exchange 

believes that the degree to which fee 

changes in this market may impose any 

burden on competition is extremely 

limited. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 143 / Wednesday, July 25, 2018 / Notices 35303 

7See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

81095 (July 7, 2017), 82 FR 32409 (July 13, 2017) 

(SR–ISE–2017–62) (temporarily waiving port fees 

for connections to the re-platformed Nasdaq ISE 

Exchange). 

8 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 9 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1According to Commission records, one issuer 

filed two notifications on Form 1–E, together with 

offering circulars, during 2013 and 2014. 

In this instance, the proposed changes 

do not impose a burden on competition 

because the proposed fee for 

connectivity to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Chicago will be the same as that which 

the Exchange presently charges to 

connect to the Chicago facility’s sister 

facility, the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Carteret. Moreover, use of and 

connection to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 

Chicago is voluntary. If a firm does not 

wish to pay fees to connect to the 

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Chicago, it may 

choose instead to connect to a 

competing trade reporting facility that 

charges lower fees. 

Lastly, the proposed fee waiver does 

not burden competition because it will 

apply only for a brief transition period. 

Such transitional fee waivers are a 

commonly accepted means of 

facilitating the adoption, testing, and 

use of new functionalities and the 

attraction of new participants.7

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were either 

solicited or 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.8

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: (i) Necessary or appropriate in 

the public interest; (ii) for the protection 

of investors; or (iii) 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 (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

NASDAQ–2018–056 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–NASDAQ–2018–056. 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–NASDAQ–2018–056, and 

should be submitted on or before 

August 15, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.9

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15846 Filed 7–24–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

Extension: 

Form 1–E, Regulation E, SEC File No. 270– 

221, OMB Control No. 3235–0232 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities 

and Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget a 

request for extension of the previously 

approved collection of information 

discussed below. 

Form 1–E (17 CFR 239.200) under the 

Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et 

seq.) (‘‘Securities Act’’) is the form that 

a small business investment company 

(‘‘SBIC’’) or business development 

company (‘‘BDC’’) uses to notify the 

Commission that it is claiming an 

exemption under Regulation E from 

registering its securities under the 

Securities Act. Rule 605 of Regulation E 

(17 CFR 230.605) under the Securities 

Act requires an SBIC or BDC claiming 

such an exemption to file an offering 

circular with the Commission that must 

also be provided to persons to whom an 

offer is made. Form 1–E requires an 

issuer to provide the names and 

addresses of the issuer, its affiliates, 

directors, officers, and counsel; a 

description of events which would 

make the exemption unavailable; the 

jurisdictions in which the issuer intends 

to offer the securities; information about 

unregistered securities issued or sold by 

the issuer within one year before filing 

the notification on Form 1–E; 

information as to whether the issuer is 

presently offering or contemplating 

offering any other securities; and 

exhibits, including copies of the rule 

605 offering circular and any 

underwriting contracts. 

The Commission uses the information 

provided in the notification on Form 1– 

E and the offering circular to determine 

whether an offering qualifies for the 

exemption under Regulation E. The 

Commission estimates that, each year, 

one issuer files one notification on Form 

1–E, together with offering circulars, 

with the Commission.1 Based on the 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES