Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 176 / Tuesday, September 11, 2018 / Notices 45997 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Market Makers shall not be considered 

Appointed OFPs for the purpose of becoming an 

Affiliated Entity. 

insolvency,’’ stating a plan sponsor’s 

determination that the plan is or may 

become insolvent, and a ‘‘notice of 

insolvency benefit level,’’ stating the 

level of benefits that will be paid during 

an insolvency year. The recipients of 

these notices are PBGC, contributing 

employers, employee organizations 

representing participants, and 

participants and beneficiaries. 

The regulation establishes the 

procedure for complying with these 

notice requirements. PBGC uses the 

information submitted to estimate cash 

needs for financial assistance to 

troubled plans. The collective 

bargaining parties use the information to 

decide whether additional plan 

contributions will be made to avoid the 

insolvency and consequent benefit 

suspensions. Plan participants and 

beneficiaries use the information in 

personal financial decisions. 

PBGC estimates that at most one plan 

sponsor of an ongoing plan gives notices 

each year under this regulation. The 

estimated annual burden of the 

collection of information is 20 hours 

and $12,000. 

3. Duties of Plan Sponsor Following 

Mass Withdrawal (29 CFR Part 4281) 

(OMB Control Number 1212–0032) 

(Expires November 30, 2018) 

Section 4281 of ERISA provides rules 

for plans that have terminated by mass 

withdrawal. Under section 4281, if 

nonforfeitable benefits exceed plan 

assets, the plan sponsor must amend the 

plan to reduce benefits. If the plan 

nevertheless becomes insolvent, the 

plan sponsor must suspend certain 

benefits that cannot be paid. If available 

resources are inadequate to pay 

guaranteed benefits, the plan sponsor 

must request financial assistance from 

PBGC. 

The regulation requires a plan 

sponsor to give notices of benefit 

reduction, notices of insolvency, and 

notices of insolvency benefit level to 

PBGC and to participants and 

beneficiaries and, if necessary, to apply 

to PBGC for financial assistance. 

PBGC uses the information it receives 

to make determinations required by 

ERISA, to identify and estimate the cash 

needed for financial assistance to 

terminated plans, and to verify the 

appropriateness of financial assistance 

payments. Plan participants and 

beneficiaries use the information to 

make personal financial decisions. 

PBGC estimates that plan sponsors of 

terminated plans each year will give 

benefit reduction notices for 1 plan, 

notices of insolvency for 10 plans, and 

notices of insolvency benefit level for 55 

plans. PBGC also estimates that plan 

sponsors each year will file initial 

requests for financial assistance for 10 

plans and will submit 300 non-initial 

applications for financial assistance. 

The estimated annual burden of the 

collection of information is 1,300 hours 

and $615,400. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Hilary Duke, 

Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory 

Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19657 Filed 9–10–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–84035; File No. SR–ISE– 

2018–76] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the 

Exchange’s Schedule of Fees To 

Permit Certain Affiliated Market 

Participants To Aggregate Volume and 

Qualify for Various Pricing Incentives 

September 5, 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 August 

24, 2018, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ 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 Schedule of Fees to permit 

certain affiliated market participants to 

aggregate volume and qualify for various 

pricing incentives. 

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 permit certain affiliated 

market participants to aggregate volume 

and qualify for various pricing 

incentives. Specifically, the Exchange 

proposes to permit Affiliated Entities to 

aggregate their Complex Order volume 

for purposes of calculating Priority 

Customer Rebates in Section II of the 

Schedule of Fees. 

Preface 

The Exchange is proposing to add the 

following new defined terms to the 

Preface of the Schedule of Fees, 

‘‘Affiliated Entity,’’ ‘‘Appointed Market 

Maker,’’ ‘‘Appointed OFP,’’ and ‘‘Order 

Flow Provider.’’ The Exchange also 

proposes to alphabetize the current 

definitions. 

Affiliated Entity 

The term ‘‘Appointed Market Maker’’ 

is proposed to be defined as a Market 

Maker who has been appointed by an 

Order Flow Provider (‘‘OFP’’) for 

purposes of qualifying as an Affiliated 

Entity. An OFP is separately proposed 

to be defined as any Member, other than 

a Market Maker, that submits orders, as 

agent or principal, to the Exchange.3

The Exchange proposes to define the 

term ‘‘Appointed OFP’’ as an OFP who 

has been appointed by a Market Maker 

for purposes of qualifying as an 

Affiliated Entity. The Exchange 

proposes to define the term ‘‘Affiliated 

Entity’’ as a relationship between an 

Appointed Market Maker and an 

Appointed OFP for purposes of 

qualifying for certain pricing as 

specified in the Schedule of Fees. In 

order to become an Affiliated Entity, 


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45998 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 176 / Tuesday, September 11, 2018 / Notices 

4The Exchange shall issue an Options Trader 

Alert specifying the email address and details 

required to apply to become an Affiliated Entity. 5Emails shall be submitted to membership@

nasdaq.com. 6 Id. 

7An ‘‘Affiliated Member’’ is a Member that shares 

at least 75% common ownership with a particular 

Member as reflected on the Member’s Form BD, 

Schedule A. See Preface to Schedule of Fees. 

8Rebates are provided per contract per leg if the 

order trades with non-Priority Customer orders in 

the Complex Order Book or trades with quotes and 

orders on the regular order book. Customer 

Complex Order rebates are paid a rebate based on 

a percentage of industry volume. Priority Customer 

Complex Tiers are based on Total Affiliated 

Member Complex Order Volume (excluding 

Crossing Orders and Responses to Crossing Orders) 

and are calculated as a percentage of Customer 

Total Consolidated Volume. ‘‘Customer Total 

Consolidated Volume’’ means the total national 

volume cleared at The Options Clearing 

Corporation in the Customer range in equity and 

ETF options in that month. 

9 ‘‘Select Symbols’’ are options overlying all 

symbols listed on the Nasdaq ISE that are in the 

Penny Pilot Program. 

10 ‘‘Non-Select Symbols’’ are options overlying all 

symbols excluding Select Symbols. For Non-Select 

Symbols, no rebates will be paid for orders in NDX, 

NQX and MNX. 

11 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

12 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4), (5). 

Market Makers and OFPs will be 

required to send an email to the 

Exchange to appoint their counterpart, 

at least 3 business days prior to the last 

day of the month to qualify for the next 

month.4 For example, with this 

proposal, market participants may 

submit emails 5 to the Exchange to 

become Affiliated Entities to qualify for 

discounted pricing starting September 1, 

2018, provided the emails are sent at 

least 3 business days prior to the first 

business day of September 2018. The 

Exchange will acknowledge receipt of 

the emails and specify the date the 

Affiliated Entity would qualify for 

applicable pricing, as specified in the 

Schedule of Fees. Each Affiliated Entity 

relationship will commence on the 1st 

of a month and may not be terminated 

prior to the end of any month. An 

Affiliated Entity relationship will 

terminate after a one (1) year period, 

unless either party terminates earlier in 

writing by sending an email 6 to the 

Exchange at least 3 business days prior 

to the last day of the month to terminate 

for the next month. Affiliated Entity 

relationships must be renewed 

annually. For example, if the start date 

of the Affiliated Entity relationship is 

September 1, 2018, the counterparties 

may determine to commence a new 

relationship as of September 1, 2019 by 

requiring each party to send a new 

email by August 28, 2019 (3 business 

days prior to the end of the month). 

Affiliated Members 7 may not qualify as 

a counterparty comprising an Affiliated 

Entity. Each Member may qualify for 

only one (1) Affiliated Entity 

relationship at any given time. As 

proposed, an Affiliated Entity shall be 

eligible to aggregate their volume for 

purposes of qualifying for certain 

pricing specified in the Schedule of 

Fees, as described below. 

Section II—Priority Customer Rebates 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Section II, entitled ‘‘Complex Order 

Fees and Rebates’’ to permit Affiliated 

Entities to aggregate their Complex 

Order volume for purposes of 

calculating Priority Customer Rebates. 

Currently Section II pays rebates 8 to 

Priority Customer Complex Orders in 

Select Symbols 9 and Non-Select 

Symbols.10 Today, all Complex Order 

volume executed on the Exchange, 

including volume executed by Affiliated 

Members, is included in the volume 

calculation, except for volume executed 

as Crossing Orders and Responses to 

Crossing Orders. Currently, there are 

nine Priority Customer Complex Order 

Tiers based on the percentage of 

industry volume calculation: 

Tier 1 ............................................. 0.000%–0.200% ................................................................................... ($0.25) ($0.40) 

Tier 2 ............................................. Above 0.200–0.400 .............................................................................. (0.30) (0.55) 

Tier 3 ............................................. Above 0.400–0.600 .............................................................................. (0.35) (0.70) 

Tier 4 ............................................. Above 0.600–0.750 .............................................................................. (0.40) (0.75) 

Tier 5 ............................................. Above 0.750–1.000 .............................................................................. (0.45) (0.80) 

Tier 6 ............................................. Above 1.000–1.500 .............................................................................. (0.46) (0.80) 

Tier 7 ............................................. Above 1.500–2.000 .............................................................................. (0.48) (0.80) 

Tier 8 ............................................. Above 2.000–3.250 .............................................................................. (0.50) (0.85) 

Tier 9 ............................................. Above 3.250 ......................................................................................... (0.50) (0.85) 

The Exchange proposes to incentivize 

certain Members, who are not Affiliated 

Members, to enter into an Affiliated 

Entity relationship for the purpose of 

aggregating Complex Order volume to 

qualify for Section II, Priority Customer 

Rebates. The Exchange proposes to add 

a sentence to note 16 within Section II 

of the Schedule of Fees to provide, 

‘‘Affiliated Entities may aggregate their 

Complex Order volume for purposes of 

calculating Priority Customer Rebates. 

The Appointed OFP would receive the 

rebate associated with the qualifying 

volume tier based on aggregated 

volume.’’ 

By aggregating volume, the Affiliated 

OFP, who submits Priority Customer 

order volume, is offered an opportunity 

to qualify for higher rebates, thereby 

lowering costs and encouraging 

Members to send more order flow. 

Priority Customer liquidity benefits all 

market participants by providing more 

order flow to the marketplace and more 

trading opportunities. Affiliated 

Members are not eligible to enter an 

Affiliated Entity relationship. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal to amend its Schedule of Fees 

is consistent with Section 6(b) of the 

Act,11 in general, and furthers the 

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

the Act,12 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 its facilities, and is not 

designed to permit unfair 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Exchange’s proposal to amend 

the Preface of the Schedule of Fees to 

add the definitions of ‘‘Appointed 

Market Maker,’’ ‘‘Appointed OFP,’’ 

‘‘Order Flow Provider’’ and ‘‘Affiliated 

Entity’’ is reasonable because the 

Exchange is proposing to identify the 

applicable market participants that may 

qualify to aggregate volume as an 

Affiliated Entity. Further the Exchange 

seeks to make clear the manner in 

which Members may participate on the 

Exchange as Affiliated Entities by 

setting timeframes for communicating 

agreements among market participants 

and terms of early termination. The 

Exchange also clearly states that no 

Affiliated Member may become a 

counterparty to an Affiliated Entity. The 

Exchange believes that these terms are 

reasonable because Members could elect 

to become a counterparty to an 

Affiliated Entity, provided they are not 

Affiliated Members. 

The Exchange’s proposal to amend 

the Preface of the Schedule of Fees to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 176 / Tuesday, September 11, 2018 / Notices 45999 

13Both Members must elect each other to become 

an Affiliated Entity for one year. Participation is 

effected by an agreement of both parties that have 

provided proper notification to the Exchange. A 

party may elect to terminate the agreement at any 

time prior to one year. 

14See Section II of the Schedule of Fees. 

15The Nasdaq Options Market LLC, Nasdaq Phlx 

LLC and Nasdaq BX, Inc. have similar programs. 16See ISE Rule 804. 

add the definitions of ‘‘Appointed 

Market Maker,’’ ‘‘Appointed OFP,’’ 

‘‘Order Flow Provider’’ and ‘‘Affiliated 

Entity’’ is equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because all Members that 

are not Affiliated Members may choose 

to enter into an Affiliated Entity 

relationship. 

The Exchange also believes that it is 

reasonable, equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to alphabetize the 

definitions for ease of reference. 

Section II—Priority Customer Rebates 

The Exchange’s proposal to permit 

Affiliated Entities to aggregate Complex 

Order volume for purposes of qualifying 

Appointed OFPs for Section II Priority 

Customer Rebates is reasonable because 

it will attract additional Priority 

Customer order flow to the Exchange. 

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. Appointed OFPs directing 

Priority Customer order flow to the 

Exchange may be eligible to qualify for 

a Priority Customer Rebate or a higher 

Priority Customer Rebate tier, with this 

proposal, as a result of aggregating 

volume with an Appointed Market 

Maker and thereby qualifying for higher 

Priority Customer Rebates. Permitting 

Members to aggregate volume for 

purposes of qualifying the Appointed 

OFP for Section II Priority Customer 

Rebates may also encourage the 

counterparties that comprise the 

Affiliated Entities to incentivize each 

other to attract and seek to execute more 

Priority Customer volume on ISE. In 

turn, market participants would benefit 

from the increased liquidity with which 

to interact and potentially tighter 

spreads on orders. Overall, incentivizing 

market participants with increased 

opportunities to earn higher Priority 

Customer rebates may increase the 

quality of the liquidity available on ISE. 

Paying the Priority Customer Rebate 

to the Affiliated OFP is consistent with 

the Act because as between the 

Appointed Market Maker and the 

Appointed OFP, the Appointed OFP 

would be submitting Priority Customer 

Orders as part of its business model. 

Appointed Market Makers do not 

typically submit such order flow. The 

Appointed Market Maker does have the 

opportunity to obtain a low Market 

Maker Taker Fee for Select Symbols of 

$0.47 per contract as compared to $0.50 

per contract if the Market Maker 

qualified for Priority Customer Complex 

Tier 8 and $0.44 per contract for Market 

Makers that achieve Priority Customer 

Complex Tier 9. 

The Exchange’s proposal to permit 

Affiliated Entities to aggregate Complex 

Order volume for purposes of qualifying 

Appointed OFPs for Section II Priority 

Customer Rebates is equitable and not 

unfairly discriminatory because all ISE 

Members, other than Affiliated 

Members, may elect to become an 

Affiliated Entity as either an Appointed 

Market Maker or an Appointed OFP.13

Also, each Member may participate in 

only one Affiliated Entity relationship at 

a given time, which imposes a measure 

of exclusivity among market 

participants, allowing each party to rely 

on the other’s executed Priority 

Customer volume on ISE to receive a 

corresponding benefit in terms of a 

higher rebate. Any market participant 

that by definition is not an Affiliated 

Member may elect to become a 

counterparty of an Affiliated Entity. 

The Exchange’s proposal to exclude 

Affiliated Members from qualifying as 

an Affiliated Entity is reasonable, 

equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because Affiliated 

Members may aggregate volume today 

for purposes of Section II Priority 

Customer Rebates.14 Also, the Exchange 

will apply all qualifications in a 

uniform manner when approving 

Affiliated Entities. 

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. The 

Exchange’s proposal to amend the 

Preface of the Pricing Schedule to add 

the definitions of ‘‘Appointed Market 

Maker,’’ ‘‘Appointed OFP,’’ ‘‘Order 

Flow Provider’’ and ‘‘Affiliated Entity’’ 

does not impose an undue burden on 

competition because these definitions 

apply to all members and member 

organizations uniformly. Alphabetizing 

the remaining definitions will provide 

ease of reference. The Exchange believes 

that its proposal does not impose any 

burden on inter-market competition 

because similar programs exist on other 

markets.15

Section II—Priority Customer Rebates 

In terms of intra-market competition, 

the Exchange does not believe that its 

proposal to permit counterparties of an 

Affiliated Entity to aggregate Priority 

Customer volume for purposes of 

qualifying for Section II Priority 

Customer Rebates imposes an undue 

burden on intra-market competition 

because all ISE Members, other than 

Affiliated Members, may become an 

Affiliated Entity as either an Appointed 

Market Maker or an Appointed OFP. 

Also, each ISE Member may participate 

in only one Affiliated Entity 

relationship at a given time, which 

imposes a measure of exclusivity among 

market participants, allowing each party 

to rely on the other’s executed Priority 

Customer volume on ISE to receive a 

corresponding benefit in terms of a 

higher rebate. The Exchange will apply 

all qualifications in a uniform manner to 

all market participants that elect to 

become counterparties of an Affiliated 

Entity. Any market participant that is by 

definition an Affiliated Member may not 

become a counterparty of an Affiliated 

Entity. 

Market Makers are valuable market 

participants that provide liquidity in the 

marketplace and incur costs that other 

market participants do not incur. Market 

Makers are subject to quoting 

obligations 16 that do not apply to other 

market participants. Incentivizing these 

market participants to execute Priority 

Customer volume on ISE may result in 

tighter spreads. 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. Appointed OFPs directing 

order flow to the Exchange may be 

eligible to qualify for a Priority 

Customer Rebate or a higher Priority 

Customer Rebate tier, with this 

proposal, as a result of aggregating 

volume with an Appointed Market 

Maker and thereby qualifying for higher 

Priority Customer Rebates. Permitting 

Members to affiliate for purposes of 

qualifying for Section II Priority 

Customer Rebates may also encourage 

the counterparties that comprise the 

Affiliated Entities to incentivize each 

other to attract and seek to execute more 

Priority Customer volume on ISE. 

The Exchange’s proposal to exclude 

Affiliated Members from becoming an 

Affiliated Entity does not impose and 

undue burden on intra-market 

competition because Affiliated Members 

may aggregate volume today for 


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46000 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 176 / Tuesday, September 11, 2018 / Notices 

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

18 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83662 (July 

18, 2018), 83 FR 35033 (July 24, 2018) (SR–ICC– 

2018–008). 

4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

5 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

purposes of qualifying for Priority 

Customer 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.17 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–2018–76 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–2018–76. 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 

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. All comments received will 

be posted without change; the 

Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR–ISE– 

2018–76 and should be submitted on or 

before October 2, 2018. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.18

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19642 Filed 9–10–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–84032; File No. SR–ICC– 

2018–008] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE 

Clear Credit LLC; Notice of 

Designation of Longer Period for 

Commission Action on Proposed Rule 

Change Relating to ICC’s Risk 

Management Model Description 

Document and ICC’s Risk Management 

Framework 

September 5, 2018. 

On July 5, 2018, ICE Clear Credit LLC 

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

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

a proposed rule change to transition ICC 

from a stress-based methodology to a 

Monte Carlo-based methodology for the 

spread-response and recovery-ratesensitivity-response components of the 

initial margin model (SR–ICC–2018– 

008) (‘‘Proposed Rule Change’’), 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder.2

The Proposed Rule Change was 

published for comment in the Federal 

Register on July 24, 2018.3 The 

Commission did not receive any 

comments on the Proposed Rule 

Change. 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 4 provides 

that within 45 days of the publication of 

notice of the filing of a proposed rule 

change, or within such longer period up 

to 90 days as the Commission may 

designate if it finds such longer period 

to be appropriate and publishes its 

reasons for so finding or as to which the 

self-regulatory organization consents, 

the Commission shall either approve the 

proposed rule change, disapprove the 

proposed rule change, or institute 

proceedings to determine whether the 

proposed rule change should be 

disapproved. The 45th day after 

publication of the notice for the 

Proposed Rule Change is September 7, 

2018. 

The Commission is extending the 45- 

day time period for Commission action 

on the Proposed Rule Change. The 

Commission finds that it is appropriate 

to designate a longer period within 

which to take action on the Proposed 

Rule Change so that it has sufficient 

time to consider and take action on the 

Proposed Rule Change. 

Accordingly, pursuant to Section 

19(b)(2) of the Act 5 and for the reasons 

stated above, the Commission 

designates October 22, 2018 as the date 

by which the Commission shall either 

approve, disapprove, or institute 

proceedings to determine whether to 

disapprove proposed rule change SR– 

ICC–2018–008. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19637 Filed 9–10–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 


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