Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / Notices 15171 

12 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

13 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6)(iii) requires the Exchange to give the 

Commission written notice of the Exchange’s intent 

to file the proposed rule change, along with a brief 

description and text of the proposed rule change, 

at least five business days prior to the date of filing 

of the proposed rule change, or such shorter time 

as designated by the Commission. The Exchange 

has satisfied this requirement. 

14For purposes only of waiving the 30-day 

operative delay, the Commission has considered the 

proposed rule’s impact on efficiency, competition, 

and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

15 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

to assist its co-located clients in 

upgrading to higher bandwidth 

connections to meet the growing needs 

of the co-located clients’ business 

operations at a time in the industry 

when the ever-increasing size of 

consolidated and proprietary data fees 

are [sic] causing higher demand for 

larger bandwidth options to reduce 

potential disruption in the marketplace. 

Equitably Allocated 

The Exchange also believes the 

proposal to waive the 10Gb and 40Gb 

fiber connection installation fee is 

equitably allocated in that all Exchange 

members that voluntarily select these 

service options will be afforded the 

waiver of fees until May 31, 2012. All 

Exchange members have the option to 

select these voluntary co-location 

services. 

Not Unfairly Discriminatory 

The Exchange also believes the 

proposal to waive the 10Gb and 40Gb 

fiber connection installation fee is not 

unfairly discriminatory in that the 

waiver of fees is provided to all 

Exchange members that volunteer for 

these particular service options, and 

there is no differentiation among 

members with regard to the waiver of 

fees for these options. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will result in 

any burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act, as amended. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not significantly affect the 

protection of investors or the public 

interest, does not impose any significant 

burden on competition, and, by its 

terms, does not become operative for 30 

days from the date on which it was 

filed, or such shorter time as the 

Commission may designate, it has 

become effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 12 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) thereunder.13

The Exchange has requested that the 

Commission waive the 30-day operative 

delay. The Commission believes that 

waiver of the operative delay is 

consistent with the protection of 

investors and the public interest 

because such waiver will facilitate 

trading activities by providing members 

an option to enhance the efficiency of 

their trading through the 40Gb 

connectivity. Therefore, the 

Commission designates the proposal 

operative upon filing.14

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. 

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 rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–BX–2012–012 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–BX–2012–012. 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 Web site 

(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 Web site 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 such 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 

publicly available. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR–BX– 

2012–012 and should be submitted on 

or before April 4, 2012. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.15

Kevin M. O’Neill, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6113 Filed 3–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–66539; File No. SR–NSCC– 

2012–03] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

National Securities Clearing 

Corporation; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Relating to Messaging 

and Settlement Enhancements to the 

In Force Transactions Product Service 

of NSCC’s Insurance and Retirement 

Services and the Establishment of 

Fees Applicable Thereto 

March 8, 2012. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’),1 notice is hereby given that on 

February 29, 2012, the National 

Securities Clearing Corporation 

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

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

the proposed rule change described in 

Items I, II and III below, which Items 

have been prepared primarily by NSCC. 

NSCC filed the proposal pursuant to 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
15172 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / Notices 

2 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii) 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

5 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(4)(i). 

6The Commission has modified the text of the 

summaries prepared by NSCC. 

7Note that Rule 57, Section 1(j) generally 

provides that NSCC will not be responsible for the 

completeness or accuracy of any data transmitted 

between I&RS Members through NSCC’s I&RS, nor 

for any errors, omissions or delays which may occur 

in the absence of gross negligence on NSCC’s part, 

in the transmission of such data between I&RS 

Members. The changes to Rule 57 being proposed 

hereby are subject to the limitations set forth in 

Rule 57, Section 1(j). 

Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) 2 and (iii) 3 of the 

Act, and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) 4 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(4)(i) 5 thereunder so that the 

proposal was effective upon filing with 

the Commission. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comments on the rule change from 

interested parties. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The proposed rule change applies to 

Rule 57 of NSCC’s Rules and 

Procedures. The rule change consists of 

messaging and settlement enhancements 

to the In Force Transactions (‘‘IFT’’) 

product service of NSCC’s Insurance 

and Retirement Services (‘‘I&RS’’). The 

proposed rule change also establishes 

the fees in connection therewith. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

NSCC 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. NSCC has prepared 

summaries, set forth in sections (A), (B), 

and (C) below, of the most significant 

aspects of these statements.6

(A) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

(i) Background. The I&RS provides a 

centralized communication link that 

connects participating insurance 

companies (‘‘Carriers’’) with 

participating intermediaries, such as 

broker-dealers, banks, and insurance 

agencies (‘‘Distributors’’), that distribute 

a participating Carriers’ insurance 

products. In general, the IFT service 

automates the transmission of data with 

respect to in force policy transactions 

among participating I&RS members 

(‘‘I&RS Members’’). In force policy 

transactions, also known as post issue 

transactions, are transactions that take 

place after the underlying insurance 

contract has become effective. NSCC 

proposes to enhance IFT’s messaging 

capabilities, as well as leverage NSCC’s 

general settlement capability and apply 

it to the suite of IFT product services. 

The Proposed Messaging 

Enhancements. The proposed messaging 

enhancements will allow Distributors of 

insurance and retirement products (or 

other benefit plan or program products) 

processed within the I&RS to send and 

receive automated messages to and from 

Carriers relating to (i) money 

withdrawals and/or (ii) modified 

arrangement requests with regard to an 

underlying in force insurance policy. 

a. Withdrawal Messages. Withdrawal 

messages are requests from Distributors 

to process a one-time full or partial 

withdrawal of money with regard to an 

in force insurance policy. 

b. Arrangement Messages. 

Arrangement messages are requests from 

Distributors to add, modify, or delete 

service features of an in force insurance 

policy. A service feature may include, 

but is not limited to, the following 

contract features: systematic 

withdrawals (e.g., changing a currently 

established monthly withdrawal under 

an existing policy to a quarterly 

withdrawal), automatic investment 

plans (e.g., scheduling automatic 

additional periodic payments to an 

insurance policy), asset allocation 

programs (e.g., requesting a change in 

the asset to be invested), and asset 

rebalancing (e.g., requesting a change in 

the allocation of investment among the 

various assets). 

Any request for a withdrawal from or 

to add, modify, or delete a service 

feature in an existing policy would be 

initiated by the Distributor on behalf of 

the customer and transmitted to the 

Carrier through the I&RS network. Each 

such transaction request will require 

validation by both the Distributor and 

the Carrier, enabling each to review the 

transaction request against its own legal 

and other product and customer rules 

applicable to the transaction. 

Prior to initiating a withdrawal or 

arrangement request, the Distributor 

generally must access current contract 

information to determine if the request 

can be made with respect to a particular 

contract, including confirming fund 

balances held under the contract and 

applicable rules. Accordingly, the 

withdrawal and arrangement 

enhancements will include a real-time 

inquiry and response transaction 

functionality that will allow Distributors 

to inquire and the Carrier to provide a 

current ‘‘snapshot’’ of the contract. 

NSCC’s Positions and Values service 

also may be used in conjunction with 

the request. Receipt of the current 

contract information from the Carrier 

permits the Distributor to review the 

request for suitability and compliance 

requirements. This preliminary request 

for and receipt of information is referred 

to as a ‘‘values inquiry and response.’’ 

Following the values inquiry and 

response, the Distributor will initiate a 

withdrawal request or an arrangement 

request to be delivered to the Carrier. 

Upon receipt of the applicable request 

from the Distributor, NSCC will review 

the request for such information as 

NSCC determines from time to time to 

be necessary.7 If the request appears to 

contain the information required by 

NSCC, it will be forwarded by NSCC to 

the Carrier. The Carrier will then 

perform ‘‘real time’’ validation on the 

content of the request. This validation 

may involve consideration of 

transaction integrity that can be 

evaluated before fund prices are 

available and the actual transaction is 

processed by the Carrier’s 

administration system in the overnight 

batch cycle. The validation that may 

occur includes edits such as: the policy 

exists, the Distributor was preauthorized 

by the owner for the transaction, the 

amount being requested can be 

withdrawn, and the destination account 

is valid. The level of validation that is 

performed during the day will be 

determined by each Carrier and possibly 

by a ‘‘trading partner agreement.’’ 

Regardless of the complexity of the 

Carrier’s validation process, after 

receiving the original request the Carrier 

will create a response message to be sent 

back to the Distributor through NSCC’s 

I&RS with acceptance or rejection of the 

withdrawal or arrangement request. 

NSCC will review the response message 

for such information as NSCC 

determines from time to time to be 

necessary. If the response message 

appears to contain the information 

required by NSCC, it will be forwarded 

by NSCC to the Distributor. 

When the withdrawal request or 

arrangement request is successfully 

processed by the Carrier, a ‘‘success’’ 

message will be sent through NSCC’s 

I&RS to the Distributor. Alternatively, 

the Carrier may send a failure message 

to the Distributor if the requested 

transaction fails (for instance, if after the 

request is initiated a price change in an 

underlying fund results in a value that 

is outside of the amount allowed for a 

withdrawal), or the Carrier may send a 

pending message. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / Notices 15173 

8See, e.g., SR–NSCC–2005–02, Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 34–51753 (May 27, 2005), 

70 FR 32859 (June 6, 2005); SR–NSCC–2005–09, 

Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–52343 

(August 26, 2005), 70 FR 52461 (September 2, 

2005); SR–NSCC–2008–03, Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 34–58053 (June 26, 2008), 73 FR 38749 

(July 7, 2008). 

9 Variable insurance products are ‘‘securities’’ for 

purposes of federal securities law, the sale of which 

is subject to regulation by the Commission and the 

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (‘‘FINRA’’). 

In addition, investment options (or ‘‘funds’’) 

included within a variable insurance contract are 

typically separate accounts that are, absent an 

exemption, required to register as investment 

companies under the 1940 Act. Withdrawals must 

therefore also comply with relevant provisions of 

the 1940 Act and the regulations promulgated 

thereunder. 

10Rule 22c–1 under the 1940 Act, often referred 

to as the ‘‘forward pricing’’ rule, requires that orders 

in investment company shares be priced based 

upon the current net asset value (NAV) next 

computed after receipt of the order to buy or 

redeem shares (17 CFR 270.22c–1(a)). The receipt 

of an order for the purchase or redemption of 

mutual fund shares by a distributing broker-dealer 

from its customer is generally deemed receipt of the 

order in investment company shares for purposes 

of Rule 22c–1. This practice is generally subject to 

the provisions of the distribution agreement 

between the fund and the distributing brokerdealer. 

11 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

12 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii). 

13 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

14 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(4)(i). 

The proposed IFT enhancements will 

also support a cancellation functionality 

to allow the Distributor to request the 

cancellation of a withdrawal or 

arrangement request. The Carrier may 

accept the cancellation request, or it 

may reject it (if, for example, the Carrier 

does not allow the cancellation under 

the reject reason code provided by the 

Distributor). 

Implementation of the withdrawal 

and arrangement messaging 

enhancements being proposed by this 

rule filing will be the third phase of 

NSCC’s plan for the automation and 

standardization of a broad range of 

messaging enhancements to the IFT 

product service.8 The automation of in 

force transactions is consistent with the 

insurance industry’s straight-through 

processing objectives and the continued 

efforts to mainstream insurance 

products with other financial products. 

The proposed IFT messaging 

enhancements are intended to replace 

the current varied processes used by 

Distributors to request withdrawals from 

or changed arrangements within an 

insurance contract. Current processes 

include using Carrier Web sites, 

telephone, fax, and email. Automation 

and standardization of the process will 

increase efficiency, create an automated 

record of the transaction, and facilitate 

monitoring compliance with regulatory 

requirements.9 By centralizing all 

withdrawal requests initiated by 

registered representatives through one 

application at NSCC, a broker-dealer 

firm will be better able to monitor the 

activity of its registered representatives 

to assure compliance with regulatory 

requirements. To facilitate compliance 

requirements under Rule 22c–1 of the 

Investment Company Act of 1940 

(‘‘1940 Act’’), the withdrawal request 

message from the Distributor to the 

Carrier has mandatory message fields for 

the transaction date and transaction 

time, these being the date and time the 

Distributor received the withdrawal 

request from its customer. Pursuant to 

arrangements between a Distributor and 

the Carrier that issued the variable 

contract, the Carrier may determine to 

accept the Distributor’s receipt of the 

order from its customer as the time the 

order was received for purposes of Rule 

22c–1.10

The Proposed Settlement 

Enhancement. The in force money 

settlement enhancement being proposed 

by this rule change will leverage NSCC’s 

existing net daily money settlement 

process and apply it to in force policy 

withdrawal or premium payment 

transaction. Once implemented, the 

proposed money settlement 

functionality would be available for all 

in force transactions that include a 

money settlement component, as 

opposed to having to create the money 

settlement functionality on a productby-product basis as is currently the 

practice. The in force money settlement 

enhancement would only be available to 

I&RS Members and would permit 

Carriers and Distributors to settle money 

transactions even if the underlying in 

force insurance transaction is, or was, 

processed outside of NSCC (e.g., an in 

force policy that contains a systematic 

withdrawal provision). Under the 

proposed enhancement, a money 

settlement transaction to be processed 

within NSCC’s I&RS network would be 

in all cases initiated by the I&RS 

Member whose account is to be debited. 

The credit to be paid to the applicable 

contra side I&RS Member will be 

processed through NSCC’s net daily 

money settlement process and, to the 

extent a net credit is due to such contra 

side I&RS Member under NSCC’s 

settlement rules, payment shall be made 

in accordance with NSCC’s standard 

settlement procedures. 

Automated money settlement for 

some of these currently non-automated 

transactions would provide activity 

detail between I&RS Member Carriers 

and Distributors currently not existing 

today and would allow these I&RS 

Members to include such settlements 

within their daily NSCC net settlement 

obligations. As with all I&RS settlement, 

the proposed settlement enhancement 

would be a non-guaranteed service of 

NSCC. 

The Proposed Fees. NSCC proposes to 

update the Fee Schedule to incorporate 

the fees associated with the messaging 

and settlement enhancements proposed 

by this rule filing and to make certain 

technical and clarification changes. The 

fees associated with withdrawal 

message requests will be $1.25 per 

message request per side. The fees 

associated with arrangement message 

requests will be $1.25 per message 

request per side. The fees associated 

with settlement processing for 

withdrawals and premium payments 

will be $0.50 per transaction per side. 

(ii) The proposed rule change will 

promote processing efficiencies between 

Carriers and Distributors, thereby 

facilitating the prompt and accurate 

processing of securities transactions, 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Act and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to NSCC. 

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

NSCC does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will have any 

impact or impose any burden on 

competition. 

(C) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments relating to the 

proposed rule change have not been 

solicited or received. NSCC will notify 

the Commission of any written 

comments received by NSCC. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing proposed rule change 

has become effective upon filing 

pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) 11 and 

(iii) 12 of the Act and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) 13

and (4)(i) 14 thereunder because it 

establishes or changes a due, fee, or 

other charge applicable only to a 

member imposed by NSCC and because 

it effects a change in an existing service 

of NSCC that does not significantly 

affect the safeguarding of securities or 

funds in the custody or control of NSCC 

or for which it is responsible, and does 

not significantly affect the respective 

rights or obligations of NSCC or persons 

using this service. At any time within 60 

days of the filing of the proposed rule 

change, the Commission summarily may 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
15174 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / Notices 

15 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See ICE Clear Europe Rule 101. The Rules are 

available on-line at: https://www.theice.com/ 

Rulebook.shtml?clearEuropeRulebook=. All 

capitalized terms not defined herein are defined in 

the Rules. 

4The Commission has modified the text of the 

summaries prepared by ICE Clear Europe. 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. 

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–NSCC–2012–03 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NSCC–2012–03. 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 Web site (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 Web site 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 such filings 

also will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of NSCC 

and on NSCC’s Web site at http:// 

www.dtcc.com/downloads/legal/ 

rule_filings/2012/nscc/SR-NSCC-2012- 

03.pdf. 

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–NSCC–2012–03 and should 

be submitted on or before April 4, 2012. 

For the Commission by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.15

Kevin O’Neill, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6106 Filed 3–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–66538; File No. SR–ICEEU– 

2012–03] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE 

Clear Europe Limited; Notice of Filing 

and Order Granting Accelerated 

Approval of Proposed Rule Change To 

Revise Rules Related to Certain 

Operational Changes Relating to 

Timing, Effectiveness and Operation of 

Transfer Orders for Purposes of 

Compliance With Non-U.S. Legislation 

March 8, 2012. 

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 March 6, 

2012, ICE Clear Europe Limited (‘‘ICE 

Clear Europe’’) 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 

primarily by ICE Clear Europe. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons and to 

approve the proposed rule change on an 

accelerated basis. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

ICE Clear Europe is in regular 

communication with representatives of 

its Clearing Members, as that term is 

defined in the Rules of ICE Clear 

Europe 3 (‘‘Rules’’) in relation to the 

operation of clearing processes and 

arrangements. From time-to-time, ICE 

Clear Europe must amend its Rules with 

reference to its home country and home 

region regulation. These changes follow 

recent amendments and changes to 

home country and home region 

regulation. Following consultation with 

its applicable home country regulators 

ICE Clear Europe has published these 

proposed rule changes, has carried out 

a public consultation process in respect 

of all of the changes described below, 

and has presented and agreed to the 

changes described below with its 

Clearing Members. These changes seek 

to clarify the timing and operation of 

various clearing processes, for existing 

clearing activities. Specifically, ICE 

Clear Europe is making changes to Part 

12 of its Rules, which set out how 

certain transfer, clearing and settlement 

orders are treated for purposes of nonU.S. insolvency legislation, namely the 

U.K. Financial Markets and Insolvency 

(Settlement Finality) Regulations 1999 

(the ‘‘U.K. Settlement Finality Rules’’) 

and the EU Settlement Finality Directive 

(Directive 98/26/EC) (together with the 

U.K. Settlement Finality Rules, the 

‘‘Settlement Finality Legislation’’). 

These proposed changes reflect changes 

to ICE Clear Europe’s clearing and 

payment systems that have been 

proposed following designation by U.K. 

authorities as a ‘‘designated system’’ for 

purposes of such legislation; the 

proposed changes follow various 

meetings and discussions with the 

relevant U.K. authorities. These changes 

were published in ICE Clear Europe 

circular no. C11/169 on November 25, 

2011, available at: https:// 

www.theice.com/publicdocs/ 

clear_europe/circulars/C11169_att1.pdf. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, ICE 

Clear Europe 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. ICE 

Clear Europe has prepared summaries, 

set forth in sections (A), (B), and (C) 

below, of the most significant aspects of 

these statements.4

(A) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

The principal purpose of the 

proposed rule change is for applicable 

provisions of the Rules to be updated to 

reflect technical details relating to the 

treatment of certain transfer, clearing 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES