Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2024 / Notices 2989 

4See Docket No. ACR2013, Postal Regulatory 

Commission, Review of Postal Service FY 2013 

Performance Report and FY 2014 Performance Plan, 

July 7, 2014; Docket No. ACR2014, Postal 

Regulatory Commission, Analysis of the Postal 

Service’s FY 2014 Program Performance Report and 

FY 2015 Performance Plan, July 7, 2015; Docket No. 

ACR2015, Postal Regulatory Commission, Analysis 

of the Postal Service’s FY 2015 Annual Performance 

Report and FY 2016 Performance Plan, May 4, 2016; 

Docket No. ACR2016, Postal Regulatory 

Commission, Analysis of the Postal Service’s FY 

2016 Annual Performance Report and FY 2017 

Performance Plan, April 27, 2017; Docket No. 

ACR2017, Postal Regulatory Commission, Analysis 

of the Postal Service’s FY 2017 Annual Performance 

Report and FY 2018 Performance Plan, April 26, 

2018; Docket No. ACR2018, Postal Regulatory 

Commission, Analysis of the Postal Service’s FY 

2018 Annual Performance Report and FY 2019 

Performance Plan, May 13, 2019; Docket No. 

ACR2019, Postal Regulatory Commission, Analysis 

of the Postal Service’s FY 2019 Annual Performance 

Report and FY 2023 Performance Plan, June 1, 

2023; Docket No. ACR2020, Postal Regulatory 

Commission, Analysis of the Postal Service’s FY 

2020 Annual Performance Report and FY 2021 

Performance Plan, June 2, 2021; Docket No. 

ACR2021, Postal Regulatory Commission, Analysis 

of the Postal Service’s FY 2021 Annual Performance 

Report and FY 2022 Performance Plan, June 30, 

2022; Docket No. ACR2022, Postal Regulatory 

Commission, Analysis of the Postal Service’s FY 

2022 Annual Performance Report and FY 2023 

Performance Plan, June 28, 2023. 

5 In FY 2023, the Postal Service measured CX 

based on customer surveys. See Docket No. 

ACR2023, Library Reference USPS–FY23–38, 

December 29, 2023, ZIP folder ‘‘FY23.38.Files.zip’’ 

PDF file ‘‘CX_Surveys_FY23.pdf. 

6See FY 2023 Annual Report at 59–60. 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

annual performance plan and annual 

performance report. 39 U.S.C. 3653(d). 

The Commission may also ‘‘provide 

recommendations to the Postal Service 

related to the protection or promotion of 

public policy objectives set out in’’ Title 

39. Id. 

Since Docket No. ACR2013, the 

Commission has evaluated whether the 

Postal Service met its performance goals 

in reports separate from the Annual 

Compliance Determination.4 The 

Commission continues this current 

practice to provide a more in-depth 

analysis of the Postal Service’s progress 

toward meeting its performance goals 

and plans to improve performance in 

future years. To facilitate this review, 

the Commission invites public comment 

on the following issues: 

• Did the Postal Service meet its 

performance goals in FY 2023? 

• Do the FY 2023 Report and the FY 

2024 Plan meet applicable statutory 

requirements, including 39 U.S.C. 2803 

and 2804? 

• What recommendations should the 

Commission provide to the Postal 

Service that relate to protecting or 

promoting public policy objectives in 

Title 39? 

• For the Excellent Customer 

Experience performance goal, are there 

any customer experience (CX) metrics 

the Postal Service should add to 

measure CX? 5

• What recommendations or 

observations should the Commission 

make concerning the Postal Service’s 

strategic initiatives? 6

• What other matters are relevant to 

the Commission’s analysis of the FY 

2023 Report and the FY 2024 Plan 

under 39 U.S.C. 3653(d)? 

II. Request for Comments 

Comments by interested persons are 

due no later than March 15, 2024. Reply 

comments are due no later than March 

29, 2024. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, 

Kenneth R. Moeller is appointed to 

serve as Public Representative to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this proceeding with respect to 

issues related to the Commission’s 

analysis of the FY 2023 Report and the 

FY 2024 Plan. 

III. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. The Commission invites public 

comment on the Postal Service’s FY 

2023 Report and FY 2024 Plan. 

2. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the 

Commission appoints Kenneth R. 

Moeller to serve as Public 

Representative to represent the interests 

of the general public in this proceeding 

with respect to issues related to the 

Commission’s analysis of the FY 2023 

Report and the FY 2024 Plan. 

3. Comments are due no later than 

March 15, 2024. 

4. Reply comments are due no later 

than March 29, 2024. 

5. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this Order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Jennie L. Jbara, 

Alternate Certifying Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00700 Filed 1–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–99307; File No. SR– 

CboeBZX–2024–003] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its 

Fee Schedule To Adopt Fees for the 

Short Interest Report 

January 10, 2024. 

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 January 2, 

2024, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) 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 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) proposes to 

amend its Fee Schedule. The text of the 

proposed rule change is provided 

below. 

(additions are italicized; deletions are 

[bracketed]) 

* * * * * 

Cboe U.S. Equities Fee Schedules 

BZX Equities 

Effective [December 12, 2023] January 2, 

2024 

* * * * * 

Market Data Fees: 

* * * * * 

Cboe Premium Exchange Tools 

Description Fee 

Monthly Fee per User Login ................................................................................................................................................................ $65 


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3See SR–CboeBZX–2023–102. 

4A BZX-listed security is a security listed on the 

Exchange pursuant to Chapter 14 of the Exchange’s 

Rules and includes both corporate listed securities 

and Exchange Traded Products (‘‘ETPs’’). 

5 ‘‘Cycle Settlement Date’’ is the reporting period 

date. 

6 ‘‘BATS-Symbol’’ is the Exchange-assigned 

symbol for the given security. 

7 ‘‘Number Shares Net Short Current Cycle’’ is the 

total of uncovered open short interest positions in 

a particular security in shares, for the current 

reporting period. 

8 ‘‘Number of Shares Net Short Previous Cycle’’ 

is the total number of uncovered open short interest 

positions in a particular security in shares, for the 

previous reporting period. 

9 ‘‘Cycle Average Daily Trade Volume’’ is the 

number of shares traded on average per day in a 

particular security in shares. 

10 ‘‘Minimum Number of Trade Days to Cover 

Shorts’’ is the ratio of the current short interest 

position over the average daily volume for the 

current settlement date. 

11 ‘‘Split Indicator’’ indicates whether the security 

has undergone a stock split during the current 

reporting period. 

12 ‘‘Manual Revision Indicator’’ indicates whether 

the security’s short interest for the previous 

reporting period has been revised. 

13 ‘‘Percent Change in Short Position’’ is the 

percent change from the current reporting period’s 

short interest compared to the previous reporting 

period’s short interest. 

14 ‘‘Change in Short Position from Previous’’ is 

the difference between the current and previous 

reporting period of uncovered short interest 

positions in a particular security in shares. 

15See Exchange Rule 1.5(n). 

16The monthly fees for the Short Interest Reports 

are assessed based on a 30-day period. For example, 

if an individual subscribes to the Short Interest 

Report on December 15, 2023, the monthly fee will 

cover the period of December 15, 2023 through 

January 15, 2023. If the individual cancels his/her 

subscription prior to January 15, 2023, the 

individual will not be charged for (or have access 

to) Short Interest Reports for the remainder of 

January. 

17An ‘‘Internal Distributor’’ of an Exchange 

Market Data product is a Distributor that receives 

the Exchange Market Data product and then 

distributes that data to one or more users within the 

Distributor’s own entity. 

18An ‘‘External Distributor’’ of an Exchange 

Market Data product is a Distributor that receives 

the Exchange Market Data product and then 

distributes that data to a third party or one or more 

users outside the Distributor’s own entity. 

19Those who subscribe to the Short Interest 

Report during the middle of a month will receive 

the end-of-day report for each day beginning on the 

date of subscription. 

Short Interest Report * 

Delivery Fee 

Monthly Fee—Access .......................................................................................................................................................................... $250 

Monthly Fee—Access (Historical Data) ............................................................................................................................................... 250 

Monthly Fee per Internal Distributor .................................................................................................................................................... 500 

Monthly Fee Internal Distributor (Historical Data) ............................................................................................................................... 500 

Monthly Fee per External Distributor ** ............................................................................................................................................... 750 

Monthly Fee External Distributor (Historical Data) ** .......................................................................................................................... 750 

* The Short Interest Report is available for purchase on a monthly basis or on an annual basis. 

** The Short Interest Report provided for External Distribution is only for display use redistribution. 

* * * * * 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is also available on the Exchange’s 

website (http://markets.cboe.com/us/ 

equities/regulation/rule_filings/BZX/), 

at the Exchange’s Office of the 

Secretary, 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 its 

Fee Schedule to adopt fees to be 

assessed to individuals that elect to 

subscribe to the Short Interest Reports, 

effective January 2, 2024. 

On December 11, 2023 the Exchange 

proposed to adopt a new data product 

known as the Short Interest Report.3

The Short Interest Report contains a 

summary of consolidated market short 

interest positions in all BZX-listed 

securities 4 only as reported by the 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’); it is designed 

to facilitate the distribution of short sale 

data to, among other things, provide 

analytical and investment data that the 

brokerage industry, academic 

institutions, and investors may use in 

developing risk-assessment tool and 

trading models for BZX-listed issues. 

The report data fields include Cycle 

Settlement Date,5 BATS-Symbol,6

Security Name, Number of Shares Net 

Short Current Cycle,7 Number of Shares 

Net Short Previous Cycle,8 Cycle 

Average Daily Trade Volume,9

Minimum Number of Trade Days to 

Cover Shorts,10 Split Indicator,11

Manual Revision Indicator,12 Percent 

Change in Short Position,13 and Change 

in Short Position from Previous.14

The Short Interest Report is available 

for purchase by both Members 15 and 

non-Members on a monthly or annual 

subscription basis, and subscribers will 

receive a daily end-of-day file (with 

values updated twice per month). The 

Short Interest Report is also available for 

purchase on a historical monthly basis. 

The historical reports provide the endof-day report for each day during a 

given calendar month, are available for 

purchase dating back to March 31, 2015, 

and include the same data fields as the 

daily end-of-day files. Members and 

non-Members have the ability to redistribute (internally and/or externally) 

the Short Interest Report. 

The Exchange now proposes to adopt 

fees applicable to individuals that 

subscribe to the Short Interest Reports. 

As proposed, the Exchange would 

assess a monthly 16 fee of $250 per 

month for individuals that subscribe to 

the report, $500 per month for an 

Internal Distributor 17 of the report, and 

a fee of $750 per month to an External 

Distributor 18 of the report. These fees 

may be paid on a monthly basis or on 

an annual basis.19 Data provided to an 

External Distributor via the Short 

Interest Report is only for display use 

redistribution (e.g., the data may be 

provided on the distributor’s platform). 

Therefore, distributors of the data may 

not charge separately for data included 

in the Report or incorporate such data 

into their product. External Distributors, 

unlike Internal Distributors, are 

typically compensated for the 

distribution of short sale data through 

subscription fees or other mechanisms. 

The higher price for External 

Distributors reflects the additional value 

these distributors may gain from the 

product. 

Additionally, the Exchange proposes 

to adopt fees for the Short Interest 

Report provided on a historical basis. As 


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20See, e.g., Specifications for Short Interest file, 

available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/solutions/ 

short-interest-report; and NYSE Group Short 

Interest Client Specification, available at: NYSE_

Group_Short_Interest_Client_Specification_

v1.5.pdf. 

21 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

22 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

23 Id. 

24 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

25See Cboe Global Markets, U.S. Equities Market 

Volume Summary, Month-to-Date (December 18, 

2023), available at https://www.cboe.com/us/ 

equities/market_statistics/. 

26See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 

(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005) 

(‘‘Regulation NMS Adopting Release’’). 

noted above, the Short Interest Report 

will be available for each calendar 

month dating back to March 31, 2015. 

As proposed, the fees for Short Interest 

Reports provided on a historical basis 

are the same as the fees proposed for the 

standard Short Interest Report: the 

Exchange would assess a fee of $250 per 

historical month for individuals that 

subscribe, $500 per historical month 

assessed to Internal Distributors of the 

report, and a fee of $750 per historical 

month assessed to External Distributors 

of the report. Data provided via the 

historical Short Volume Report is also 

for display use redistribution only (e.g., 

the data may be provided on the 

distributor’s platform). Therefore, 

distributors of the historical data may 

not charge separately for data included 

in the Short Interest Report or 

incorporate such data into their product. 

Nonetheless, the Exchange believes it is 

reasonable, equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to charge a fee for 

display use redistribution that reflects 

the value these distributors may gain 

from the historical product. 

The Exchange anticipates that a wide 

variety of market participants will 

purchase the Short Interest Report, 

including, but not limited to, active 

equity trading firms and academic 

institutions. For example, the Exchange 

notes that academic institutions may 

utilize the Short Interest Report data 

and as a result promote research and 

studies of the equities industry to the 

benefit of all market participants. The 

Exchange further believes the Short 

Interest Report may provide helpful 

trading information regarding investor 

sentiment that may allow market 

participants to make more informed 

trading decisions and may be used to 

create and test trading models and 

analytical strategies and provide 

comprehensive insight into trading on 

the Exchange. 

The Exchange notes that the Short 

Interest Report is a completely 

voluntary product, in that the Exchange 

is not required by any rule or regulation 

to make the reports or services available 

and that potential subscribers may 

purchase it only if they voluntarily 

choose to do so. Further, the Exchange 

notes that other exchanges offer similar 

products for a fee.20

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to the Exchange 

and, in particular, the requirements of 

section 6(b) of the Act.21 Specifically, 

the Exchange believes the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the section 

6(b)(5) 22 requirements that the rules of 

an exchange be designed to prevent 

fraudulent and manipulative acts and 

practices, to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to foster cooperation 

and coordination with persons engaged 

in regulating, clearing, settling, 

processing information with respect to, 

and facilitating transactions in 

securities, to remove impediments to 

and perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and, in general, to protect 

investors and the public interest. 

Additionally, the Exchange believes the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

the section 6(b)(5) 23 requirement that 

the rules of an exchange not be designed 

to permit unfair discrimination between 

customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Exchange also believes the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

section 6(b)(4) of the Act,24 which 

requires that Exchange rules provide for 

the equitable allocation of reasonable 

dues, fees, and other charges among its 

Trading Permit Holders and other 

persons using its facilities. 

In adopting Regulation NMS, the 

Commission granted self-regulatory 

organizations (‘‘SROs’’) and brokerdealers increased authority and 

flexibility to offer new and unique 

market data to the public. It was 

believed that this authority would 

expand the amount of data available to 

consumers, and also spur innovation 

and competition for the provision of 

market data. The Exchange believes that 

the Short Interest Report further 

broadens the availability of U.S. equity 

market data to investors consistent with 

the principles of Regulation NMS. The 

Short Interest Report also promotes 

increased transparency through the 

dissemination of short interest data. The 

Short Interest Report benefits investors 

by providing access to the Short Interest 

Report data, which may promote better 

informed trading, as well as research 

and studies of the equities industry. 

The Exchange operates in a highly 

competitive environment. Indeed, there 

are currently 16 registered equities 

exchanges that trade equities. Based on 

publicly available information, no single 

equities exchange has more than 13% of 

the equity market share.25 The 

Commission has repeatedly expressed 

its preference for competition over 

regulatory intervention in determining 

prices, products, and services in the 

securities markets. Particularly, in 

Regulation NMS, the Commission 

highlighted the importance of market 

forces in determining prices and SRO 

revenues and, also, recognized that 

current regulation of the market system 

‘‘has been remarkably successful in 

promoting market competition in its 

broader forms that are most important to 

investors and listed companies.’’ 26

Making similar data products available 

to market participants fosters 

competition in the marketplace, and 

constrains the ability of exchanges to 

charge supracompetitive fees. In the 

event that a market participant views 

one exchange’s data product as more 

attractive than the competition, that 

market participant can, and often does, 

switch between similar products. The 

proposed fees are a result of the 

competitive environment of the U.S. 

equities industry as the Exchange seeks 

to adopt fees to attract purchasers of the 

recently introduced Short Interest 

Report. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed fees for the Short Interest 

Report are consistent with the Act in 

that they are reasonable, equitable, and 

not unfairly discriminatory. In 

particular, the Exchange believes that 

the proposed fees are reasonable 

because they are reasonably aligned 

with the value and benefits provided to 

users that choose to subscribe to the 

Short Interest Report on the Exchange. 

As discussed above, the Short Interest 

Report may be beneficial to Members 

and non-Members as it may provide 

helpful trading information regarding 

investor sentiment that may allow 

market participants to make more 

informed trading decisions and may be 

used to create and test trading models 

and analytical strategies and provide 

comprehensive insight into trading on 

the Exchange. Therefore, the Exchange 

believes that it is reasonable to assess a 

modest fee to users that subscribe to the 

Short Interest Report. 

The Exchange further believes the 

proposed fee is reasonable because the 

amount assessed is less than the 

analogous fees charged by competitor 

exchanges. For example, for its Short 

Interest Reports, Nasdaq charges $500 


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27See Nasdaq Rule 7, Section 122. 

28See https://www.nyse.com/market-data/ 

reference/nyse-group-short-interest, which includes 

a ‘‘Purchase Now’’ option. The Exchange is 

unaware of a related filing for the offering. 

for access, $1,000 for Internal 

Distributors and from $2,500 to $7,500 

for External Distributors (depending on 

the number of subscribers).27

Additionally, NYSE and its affiliated 

equity markets (the ‘‘NYSE Group’’) 

have a similar Short Interest Report 

offering, seemingly for a charge.28 The 

Exchange therefore believes that the 

proposed fees are reasonable and set at 

a level to compete with other equity 

exchanges that offer similar reports. 

Indeed, proposing fees that are 

excessively higher than established fees 

for similar data products would simply 

serve to reduce demand for the 

Exchange’s data product, which as 

noted, is entirely optional. Although 

each of these similar data products 

provide only proprietary trade data and 

not trade data from other exchanges, it 

is possible investors are still able to 

gauge overall investor sentiment across 

different equities based on the included 

data points on any one exchange. As 

such, if a market participant views 

another exchange’s potential report as 

more attractive, then such market 

participant can merely choose not to 

purchase the Exchange’s Short Interest 

Report and instead purchase another 

exchange’s similar data product, which 

offers similar data points, albeit based 

on that other market’s trading activity. 

In addition, the Exchange believes 

that the proposed fees are equitable and 

not unfairly discriminatory because they 

will apply to all similarly situated 

Members and non-Members that choose 

to subscribe to the Short Interest Report 

equally. As stated, the Short Interest 

Report is completely optional and not 

necessary for trading. Rather, the 

Exchange voluntarily makes the Short 

Interest Report available, and users may 

choose to subscribe (and pay for) the 

report based on their own individual 

business needs. Potential subscribers 

may subscribe to the Short Interest 

Report at any time if they believe it to 

be valuable or may decline to purchase 

it. 

The Exchange also believes it is 

reasonable, equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to charge an External 

Distributor of the Short Interest Report 

a higher fee than an Internal Distributor 

as an External Distributor may provide 

the data on their platform. External 

Distributors, unlike Internal 

Distributors, are typically compensated 

for the distribution of short sale data 

through subscription fees or other 

mechanisms. Therefore, the Exchange 

believes it is reasonable, equitable and 

not unfairly discriminatory to charge a 

higher fee for display use redistribution, 

as it reflects the additional value these 

distributors may gain from the Short 

Interest product. Additionally, the 

Exchange believes it is reasonable, 

equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to charge an Internal 

Distributor of the Short Interest Report 

a higher fee than an individual, as an 

Internal Distributor may distribute the 

data to one or more users within the 

Distributor’s own entity; thus, the 

higher fee reflects the additional value 

such Internal Distributors may gain from 

the Short Interest product. Further, the 

proposed fee will apply equally to 

similarly situated individuals, Internal 

Distributors and External Distributors, 

respectively. Moreover, as described 

above, another Exchange similarly 

charges Internal and External 

Distributors higher fees as compared to 

individuals for a similar data product. 

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 that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. The 

Exchange does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will impose any 

burden on intramarket competition that 

is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act 

because the Short Interest Report will be 

available equally to all Members and 

non-Members that choose to subscribe 

to the report. Market participants are not 

required to purchase the Short Interest 

Report, and the Exchange is not 

required to make the Short Interest 

Report available to investors. Rather, the 

Exchange is voluntarily making the 

Short Interest Report available, and 

market participants may choose to 

receive (and pay for) this data based on 

their own business needs. Potential 

purchasers may request the data at any 

time if they believe it to be valuable or 

may decline to purchase such data. 

Given the above, the Exchange does not 

believe 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. 

Additionally, as discussed above, the 

Exchange believes it is appropriate to 

charge Internal and External 

Distributors higher fees as compared to 

individuals, as the higher fees reflect the 

additional value such Internal 

Distributors and External Distributors 

may gain from the Short Interest 

product. 

Next, the Exchange believes the 

proposed rule change does not impose 

any burden on intermarket competition 

that is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. 

As previously discussed, similar 

products offered by Nasdaq are priced 

higher than the Short Volume Report. 

Moreover, the Commission has 

repeatedly expressed its preference for 

competition over regulatory 

intervention in determining prices, 

products, and services in the securities 

markets. Specifically, in Regulation 

NMS, the Commission highlighted the 

importance of market forces in 

determining prices and SRO revenues 

and, also, recognized that current 

regulation of the market system ‘‘has 

been remarkably successful in 

promoting market competition in its 

broader forms that are most important to 

investors and listed companies.’’ The 

fact that this market is competitive has 

also long been recognized by the courts. 

In NetCoalition v. Securities and 

Exchange Commission, the D.C. Circuit 

stated as follows: ‘‘[n]o one disputes 

that competition for order flow is 

‘fierce.’ . . . As the SEC explained, ‘[i]n 

the U.S. national market system, buyers 

and sellers of securities, and the brokerdealers that act as their order-routing 

agents, have a wide range of choices of 

where to route orders for execution’; 

[and] ‘no exchange can afford to take its 

market share percentages for granted’ 

because ‘no exchange possesses a 

monopoly, regulatory or otherwise, in 

the execution of order flow from broker 

dealers’. . . .’’. Accordingly, the 

Exchange does not believe its proposal 

imposes any burden on competition that 

is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. 

Further, making similar data products 

available to market participants fosters 

competition in the marketplace, and 

constrains the ability of exchanges to 

charge supracompetitive fees. In the 

event that a market participant views 

one exchange’s data product as more 

attractive than the competition, that 

market participant can, and often does, 

switch between similar products. The 

proposed fees are a result of the 

competitive environment of the U.S. 

equities industry as the Exchange seeks 

to adopt fees to attract purchasers of the 

Short Interest Report. As noted above, 

the Exchange believes that the proposed 

fees are reasonable and set at a level to 

compete with other equity exchanges 

that offer similar reports. Accordingly, 

the Exchange does not believe its 

proposal imposes any burden on 

competition that is not necessary or 


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29 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

30 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f). 

31 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Rule 11.24(a)(3) (‘‘Retail Price Improvement 

Order’’). 

4See Rule 11.24(a)(2) (‘‘Retail Order’’). 

appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

The Exchange neither solicited nor 

received comments on the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to section 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act 29 and paragraph (f) of Rule 

19b–4 30 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 necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission will institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

change should be approved or 

disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

CboeBZX–2024–003 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–CboeBZX–2024–003. 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 (https://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. Do not include personal 

identifiable information in submissions; 

you should submit only information 

that you wish to make available 

publicly. We may redact in part or 

withhold entirely from publication 

submitted material that is obscene or 

subject to copyright protection. All 

submissions should refer to file number 

SR–CboeBZX–2024–003 and should be 

submitted on or before February 7, 2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.31

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00710 Filed 1–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–99311; File No. SR– 

CboeBYX–2023–020] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BYX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of 

a Proposed Rule Change To Modify 

Rule 11.24 To Introduce an Enhanced 

RPI Order and Expand Its Retail Price 

Improvement Program To Include 

Securities Priced Below $1.00 

January 10, 2024. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

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

notice is hereby given that on December 

27, 2023, Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BYX’’) 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 modify 

Rule 11.24 to introduce an Enhanced 

RPI Order and expand its Retail Price 

Improvement program to include 

securities priced below $1.00. The text 

of the proposed rule change is provided 

in Exhibit 5. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website 

(http://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/ 

regulation/rule_filings/byx/), at the 

Exchange’s Office of the Secretary, 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 

Rule 11.24 to enhance the Exchange’s 

Retail Price Improvement Program (the 

‘‘Program’’) for the benefit of retail 

investors. Specifically, the Exchange 

proposes to introduce a new Retail Price 

Improvement Order type (‘‘RPI Order’’) 3

to be known as an ‘‘Enhanced RPI 

Order.’’ The proposed Enhanced RPI 

Order will allow retail liquidity 

providers to post orders at their limit 

price but have the opportunity to 

provide a greater amount of price 

improvement as compared to other 

resting orders on the same side of the 

BYX Book with higher priority in order 

to execute with an incoming Retail 

Order 4 by exercising at a price within 

their established step-up range. The 

proposed change is designed to provide 

retail investors with additional 

opportunities for meaningful price 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1