40096 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2018 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3A ‘‘Priority Customer’’ is a person or entity that 

is not a broker/dealer in securities, and does not 

place more than 390 orders in listed options per day 

on average during a calendar month for its own 

beneficial account(s), as defined in Nasdaq ISE Rule 

100(a)(37A). Unless otherwise noted, when used in 

the Schedule of Fees the term ‘‘Priority Customer’’ 

includes ‘‘Retail’’ as defined in the Schedule of 

Fees. See Preface to ISE Schedule of Fees. 

Dated: August 9, 2018. 

Catherine F.I. Andrade, 

OPIC Corporate Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17422 Filed 8–9–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3210–01–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. CP2017–219; CP2018–217] 

New Postal Products 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a 

recent Postal Service filing for the 

Commission’s consideration concerning 

negotiated service agreements. This 

notice informs the public of the filing, 

invites public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: August 15, 

2018. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at http://

www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit 

comments electronically should contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section by 

telephone for advice on filing 

alternatives. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 

202–789–6820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Docketed Proceeding(s) 

I. Introduction 

The Commission gives notice that the 

Postal Service filed request(s) for the 

Commission to consider matters related 

to negotiated service agreement(s). The 

request(s) may propose the addition or 

removal of a negotiated service 

agreement from the market dominant or 

the competitive product list, or the 

modification of an existing product 

currently appearing on the market 

dominant or the competitive product 

list. 

Section II identifies the docket 

number(s) associated with each Postal 

Service request, the title of each Postal 

Service request, the request’s acceptance 

date, and the authority cited by the 

Postal Service for each request. For each 

request, the Commission appoints an 

officer of the Commission to represent 

the interests of the general public in the 

proceeding, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505 

(Public Representative). Section II also 

establishes comment deadline(s) 

pertaining to each request. 

The public portions of the Postal 

Service’s request(s) can be accessed via 

the Commission’s website (http://

www.prc.gov). Non-public portions of 

the Postal Service’s request(s), if any, 

can be accessed through compliance 

with the requirements of 39 CFR 

3007.40. 

The Commission invites comments on 

whether the Postal Service’s request(s) 

in the captioned docket(s) are consistent 

with the policies of title 39. For 

request(s) that the Postal Service states 

concern market dominant product(s), 

applicable statutory and regulatory 

requirements include 39 U.S.C. 3622, 39 

U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR part 3010, and 39 

CFR part 3020, subpart B. For request(s) 

that the Postal Service states concern 

competitive product(s), applicable 

statutory and regulatory requirements 

include 39 U.S.C. 3632, 39 U.S.C. 3633, 

39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR part 3015, and 

39 CFR part 3020, subpart B. Comment 

deadline(s) for each request appear in 

section II. 

II. Docketed Proceeding(s) 

1. Docket No(s).: CP2017–219; Filing 

Title: USPS Notice of Amendment to 

Parcel Select Contract 22, Filed Under 

Seal; Filing Acceptance Date: August 3, 

2018; Filing Authority: 39 CFR 3015.5; 

Public Representative: Lyudmila Y. 

Bzhilyanskaya; Comments Due: August 

15, 2018. 

2. Docket No(s).: CP2018–217; Filing 

Title: USPS Notice of Amendment to 

Priority Mail Express & Priority Mail 

Contract 65, Filed Under Seal; Filing 

Acceptance Date: August 7, 2018; Filing 

Authority: 39 CFR 3015.5; Public 

Representative: Christopher C. Mohr; 

Comments Due: August 15, 2018. 

This notice will be published in the 

Federal Register. 

Stacy L. Ruble, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17332 Filed 8–10–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83790; File No. SR–ISE– 

2018–69] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Relating to the Regular 

Order Take Fee and the QCC and 

Solicitation Order Rebate 

August 7, 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 25, 

2018, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I and II 

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 

ISE Schedule of Fees to: (i) Increase the 

Regular Order Take Fee in SPY, QQQ, 

IWM, and VXX for Priority Customers; 3

and; (2) not pay the ‘‘Customer to 

Customer’’ Orders rebate for QCC and 

solicited orders between two Priority 

Customers. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://ise.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 purpose of the proposed rule 

change is to amend the ISE Schedule of 

Fees at Section I, entitled ‘‘Regular 

Order Fees and Rebates’’ as well as the 

Section IV, entitled ‘‘Other Options Fees 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2018 / Notices 40097 

4 ‘‘Market makers’’ refers to ‘‘Competitive Market 

Makers’’ and ‘‘Primary Market Makers’’ collectively. 

See ISE Rule 100(a)(28). 

5A ‘‘Non-Nasdaq ISE Market Maker’’ is a market 

maker as defined in Section 3(a)(38) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, 

registered in the same options class on another 

options exchange. See Preface to ISE Schedule of 

Fees. 

6A ‘‘Firm Proprietary’’ order is an order 

submitted by a Member for its own proprietary 

account. See Preface to ISE Schedule of Fees. 

7 ‘‘Broker-Dealer’’ order is an order submitted by 

a Member for a broker-dealer account that is not its 

own proprietary account. See Preface to ISE 

Schedule of Fees. 

8A ‘‘Professional Customer’’ is a person or entity 

that is not a broker/dealer and is not a Priority 

Customer. See Preface to ISE Schedule of Fees. 

9A QCC Order is comprised of an originating 

order to buy or sell at least 1000 contracts that is 

identified as being part of a qualified contingent 

trade, as that term is defined in Supplementary 

Material .01 below, coupled with a contra-side 

order or orders totaling an equal number of 

contracts. See ISE Rule 715(j). 10The Solicited Order Mechanism is a process by 

which an EAM can attempt to execute orders of 500 

or more contracts it represents as agent against 

contra orders that it solicited. Each order entered 

into the Solicited Order Mechanism shall be 

designated as all-or-none. See ISE Rule 716(e). 11The Facilitation Mechanism is a process by 

which an EAM can execute a transaction wherein 

the EAM seeks to facilitate a block-size order it 

represents as agent, and/or a transaction wherein 

the EAM solicited interest to execute against a 

block-size order it represents as agent. See Rule 

716(d). 

12PIM is a process by which an Electronic Access 

Member can provide price improvement 

opportunities for a transaction wherein the 

Electronic Access Member seeks to facilitate an 

order it represents as agent, and/or a transaction 

wherein the Electronic Access Member solicited 

interest to execute against an order it represents as 

agent (a ‘‘Crossing Transaction’’). 

13All eligible volume from affiliated members 

will be aggregated in determining QCC and 

Solicitation volume totals, provided there is at least 

75% common ownership between the members as 

reflected on each member’s Form BD, Schedule A. 

14A ‘‘Customer to Customer’’ order is a QCC or 

other solicited order between two Priority 

Customers. 

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

16 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

and Rebates’’ within Section A, ‘‘QCC 

and Solicitation Rebate.’’ Each proposed 

change is described in more detail 

below. The Exchange believes that each 

of the proposed rule changes will permit 

the Exchange to remain competitive in 

options trading. 

Taker Fees 

Currently, the Exchange charges a 

Regular Order Taker Fee for Select 

Symbols, other than Priority Customer 

orders in SPY, QQQ, IWM, and VXX, of: 

$0.45 per contract for Market Maker 

orders,4 $0.44 per contract for Priority 

Customer orders and $0.46 per contract 

for Non-Nasdaq ISE Market Makers 5

(FarMM), Firm Proprietary 6/Broker 

Dealer,7 and Professional Customers 8

orders. The Regular Order Taker Fee for 

Priority Customer orders in SPY, QQQ, 

IWM, and VXX is $0.37 per contract. 

The Exchange proposes to increase this 

Regular Order Taker Fee in SPY, QQQ, 

IWM, and VXX to $0.40 per contract for 

Priority Customer orders. While the 

Exchange is increasing this fee, the 

Exchange believes that the fee remains 

competitive. Also, this fee continues to 

be lower than other Regular Order Taker 

Fees for SPY, QQQ, IWM, and VXX 

assessed to non-Priority Customers. 

QCC and Solicitation Rebate 

Currently, ISE Members using 

Qualified Contingent Cross (‘‘QCC’’) 

orders 9 and/or other solicited crossing 

orders, including solicited orders 

executed in the Solicitation,10

Facilitation 11 or Price Improvement 

Mechanism (‘‘PIM’’) 12, receive rebates 

for each originating contract side in all 

symbols traded on the Exchange. Once 

a Member reaches a certain volume 

threshold in QCC orders and/or 

solicited crossing orders during a 

month, the Exchange provides rebates to 

that Member for all of its QCC and 

solicited crossing order traded contracts 

for that month.13 The applicable rebates 

are applied on QCC and solicited 

crossing order traded contracts once the 

volume threshold is met. Today, 

Members receive the Non-‘‘Customer to 

Customer’’ rebate for all QCC and/or 

other solicited crossing orders except for 

QCC and solicited orders between two 

Priority Customers. QCC and solicited 

orders between two Priority Customers 

receive the ‘‘Customer to Customer’’ 

Orders 14 rebate. Non-‘‘Customer to 

Customer’’ and ‘‘Customer to Customer’’ 

volume is aggregated in determining the 

applicable volume tier. The current 

volume threshold and corresponding 

rebates are as follows: 

Originating contract sides 

Non-‘‘Customer to 

customer’’ 

rebate 

‘‘Customer to 

customer’’ 

rebate 

0 to 99,999 ................................................................................................................................................... $0.00 $0.00 

100,000 to 199,999 ...................................................................................................................................... (0.05) (0.01) 

200,000 to 499,999 ...................................................................................................................................... (0.07) (0.01) 

500,000 to 749,999 ...................................................................................................................................... (0.09) (0.03) 

750,000 to 999,999 ...................................................................................................................................... (0.10) (0.03) 

1,000,000+ ................................................................................................................................................... (0.11) (0.03) 

At this time, the Exchange proposes to 

not pay the ‘‘Customer to Customer’’ 

Orders rebate for QCC and solicited 

orders between two Priority Customers. 

The Exchange proposes to amend its 

Schedule of Fees to make clear that such 

a rebate will not be paid. ‘‘Customer-toCustomer’’ Rebates are being removed 

from the table within the Schedule of 

Fees. The Exchange notes that this 

rebate did not attract volume as 

anticipated when the rebate was 

implemented. The Exchange is also 

amending the sentence that provides, 

‘‘Non-‘‘Customer to Customer’’ and 

‘‘Customer to Customer’’ volume will be 

aggregated in determining the 

applicable volume tier’’ with language 

which removes the term ‘‘Customer to 

Customer’’ and instead descriptively 

defines that volume. The proposed 

sentence states, ‘‘Volume resulting from 

all QCC and solicited orders will be 

aggregated in determining the 

applicable volume tier.’’ In addition the 

Exchange is removing references to 

‘‘Non-‘‘Customer to Customer’’ rebate’’ 

and simply noting the term ‘‘rebate.’’ 

The Exchange believes that the term 

Non-‘‘Customer to Customer’’ is no 

longer necessary. The language makes 

clear that Members will receive the 

rebate for all QCC and/or other solicited 

crossing orders except for QCC and 

solicited orders between two Priority 

Customers. No other changes are being 

made to the manner in which rebates 

are calculated or paid. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,15 in general, and furthers the 

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

of the Act,16 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 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
40098 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2018 / Notices 

17Currently, ISE charges a Regular Order Taker 

Fee for Select Symbols, other than SPY, QQQ, IWM, 

and VXX, of $0.44 per contract for Priority 

Customer orders. 

18Currently, the Exchange charges a Regular 

Order Taker Fee for Select Symbols of $0.45 per 

contract for Market Maker orders and $0.46 per 

contract for FarMM, Firm Proprietary/Broker 

Dealer, and Professional Customers orders. 

19 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

20 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

Taker Fees 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change to increase Regular 

Order Priority Customer Taker Fees in 

SPY, QQQ, IWM, and VXX from $0.37 

to $0.40 per contract is reasonable 

because the increased Taker Fee 

remains competitive and will continue 

to be attractive to market participants. 

Priority Customers will continue to 

receive reduced Regular Order Taker 

Fees in SPY, QQQ, IWM, and VXX, 

which represent some of the most 

heavily traded symbols on ISE. In 

particular, the proposed Taker Fees are 

lower than Taker Fees assessed to 

Priority Customer orders in other Select 

Symbols 17 as well as Taker Fees 

assessed to other market participants.18

As such, the Exchange believes that the 

proposed Regular Order Taker Fees will 

continue to attract order flow to the 

benefit of all market participants that 

trade on the Exchange. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change to increase Regular 

Order Priority Customer Taker Fees in 

SPY, QQQ, IWM, and VXX from $0.37 

to $0.40 per contract is equitable and 

not unfairly discriminatory because 

despite the increase to the fee, Priority 

Customer interest will continue to be 

assessed the lowest Regular Order Taker 

Fees in these symbols. Priority 

Customer interest brings valuable 

liquidity to the market, which liquidity 

benefits other market participants. 

Priority Customer liquidity benefits all 

market participants by providing more 

trading opportunities, which attracts 

Market Makers. An increase in the 

activity of these market participants in 

turn facilitates tighter spreads, which 

may cause an additional corresponding 

increase in order flow from other market 

participants. 

QCC and Solicitation Rebate 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change to not pay the 

‘‘Customer to Customer’’ Rebate for QCC 

and solicited orders between two 

Priority Customers is reasonable. 

Despite the removal of the rebate, the 

Exchange believes that the proposal will 

continue to encourage Members to 

transact QCC and/or other solicited 

crossing orders on ISE. The Exchange 

notes that Customer-to-Customer Orders 

will continue to be aggregated with all 

other volume to determine the 

applicable volume tier for rebates. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change to not pay the 

‘‘Customer to Customer’’ Orders rebate 

for QCC and solicited orders between 

two Priority Customers is equitable and 

not unfairly discriminatory because the 

Exchange would uniformly not pay any 

Member a rebate for Customer-toCustomer Orders. The Customer-toCustomer Orders will continue to be 

counted toward the rebates for all 

market participants that qualify for such 

rebates. 

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. With respect 

to the increase to the Regular Order 

Taker Fees for Priority Customers in 

SPY, QQQ, IWM, and VXX, the 

Exchange does not believe this proposal 

imposes an undue burden on 

competition because despite the 

increase to the fee, Priority Customer 

interest will continue to be assessed the 

lowest Regular Order Taker Fees in 

these symbols. Priority Customer 

interest brings valuable liquidity to the 

market, which liquidity benefits other 

market participants. Priority Customer 

liquidity benefits all market participants 

by providing more trading 

opportunities, which attracts Market 

Makers. An increase in the activity of 

these market participants in turn 

facilitates tighter spreads, which may 

cause an additional corresponding 

increase in order flow from other market 

participants. 

With respect to the proposed change 

to not pay the ‘‘Customer to Customer’’ 

Orders rebate for QCC and solicited 

orders between two Priority Customers, 

the Exchange does not believe this 

proposal imposes an undue burden on 

competition because the Exchange 

would uniformly not pay any Member a 

rebate for Customer-to-Customer Orders. 

The Customer-to-Customer Orders will 

continue to be counted toward the 

rebates for all market participants that 

qualify for such rebates. 

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,19 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 20 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: (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– 

ISE–2018–69 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–ISE–2018–69. 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 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 156 / Monday, August 13, 2018 / Notices 40099 

21 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Participants must record the appropriate 

account origin code on all orders at the time of 

entry in order. The Exchange represents that it has 

surveillances in place to verify that members mark 

orders with the correct account origin code. 

4The Exchange uses reports from OCC when 

assessing and collecting the ORF. 

5CMTA or Clearing Member Trade Assignment is 

a form of ‘‘give-up’’ whereby the position will be 

assigned to a specific clearing firm at OCC. 

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–ISE–2018–69 and should be 

submitted on or before September 4, 

2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.21

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17255 Filed 8–10–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION OF PREVIOUS

ANNOUNCEMENT: 83 FR 25496, June 1, 

2018. 

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED TIME AND DATE OF

THE MEETING: Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 

10:00 a.m. 

CHANGES IN THE MEETING: The Open 

Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 5, 

2018 at 10:00 a.m. has been changed to 

Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. The 

following items will not be considered 

during the Commission’s Open Meeting: 

• Whether to adopt a new rule as well 

as amendments to rules and forms to 

provide certain registered investment 

companies (‘‘funds’’) with an optional 

method to transmit shareholder reports. 

• whether to issue a release 

requesting comment about processing 

fees for delivering shareholder reports 

and other materials to fund investors. 

• whether to issue a release 

requesting comment from individual 

investors and other interested parties on 

how to enhance the delivery, design, 

and content of fund disclosures, 

including shareholder reports and 

prospectuses. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

For further information and to ascertain 

what, if any, matters have been added, 

deleted or postponed, please contact the 

Office of the Secretary at (202) 551– 

5400. 

Dated: June 4, 2018. 

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17390 Filed 8–9–18; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–83794; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2018–062] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend the 

Nasdaq Options Regulatory Fee 

August 7, 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 27, 

2018, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 

(‘‘Nasdaq’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(the ‘‘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 revise The 

Nasdaq Options Market LLC’s Rules 

(‘‘NOM’’) at Chapter XV, Section 5 to 

amend the Nasdaq Options Regulatory 

Fee or ‘‘ORF.’’ 

While the changes proposed herein 

are effective upon filing, the Exchange 

has designated the amendments become 

operative on August 1, 2018. 

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 the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

Currently, Nasdaq assesses an ORF of 

$0.0027 per contract side. The Exchange 

proposes to decrease this ORF to 

$0.0008 per contract side. In light of 

recent market volumes on NOM, the 

Exchange is proposing to change the 

amount of ORF that will be collected by 

the Exchange. The Exchange’s proposed 

change to the ORF should balance the 

Exchange’s regulatory revenue against 

the anticipated costs. 

Collection of ORF 

Currently, NOM assesses its ORF for 

each customer option transaction that is 

either: (1) executed by a Participant on 

NOM; or (2) cleared by a NOM 

Participant at The Options Clearing 

Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) in the customer 

range,3 even if the transaction was 

executed by a non-member of NOM, 

regardless of the exchange on which the 

transaction occurs.4 If the OCC clearing 

member is a NOM Participant, ORF is 

assessed and collected on all cleared 

customer contracts (after adjustment for 

CMTA5); and (2) if the OCC clearing 

member is not a NOM Participant, ORF 

is collected only on the cleared 

customer contracts executed at NOM, 

taking into account any CMTA 

instructions which may result in 

collecting the ORF from a non-member. 

By way of example, if Broker A, a 

NOM Participant, routes a customer 

order to CBOE and the transaction 

executes on CBOE and clears in Broker 

A’s OCC Clearing account, ORF will be 

collected by NOM from Broker A’s 

clearing account at OCC via direct debit. 

While this transaction was executed on 

a market other than NOM, it was cleared 

by a NOM Participant in the member’s 

OCC clearing account in the customer 

range, therefore there is a regulatory 

nexus between NOM and the 

transaction. If Broker A was not a NOM 

Participant, then no ORF should be 

assessed and collected because there is 

no nexus; the transaction did not 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES