88094 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 6, 2024 / Notices 

8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

incentives to provide electronic 

liquidity in XND options. 

The Exchange does not believe the 

proposed rule change will impose any 

burden on intermarket competition that 

is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act 

because it relates to orders in an 

exclusively listed class submitted into a 

PIXL Auction on the Exchange. 

Additionally, the Exchange notes that 

Cboe permits orders for the accounts of 

Market-Makers with an appointment in 

SPX to be solicited for the Initiating 

Order submitted for execution against 

an Agency Order in SPX options into an 

AIM Auction pursuant to Cboe Rule 

5.37. The Exchange believes the 

proposed rule change may improve 

price competition for smaller-sized 

orders within PIXL Auctions for XND 

options, because the primary liquidity 

providers will be available for the 

solicitation necessary to initiate those 

auctions. 

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 

Within 45 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period (i) 

as the Commission may designate up to 

90 days of such date if it finds such 

longer period to be appropriate and 

publishes its reasons for so finding or 

(ii) as to which the Exchange consents, 

the Commission shall: (a) by order 

approve or disapprove such proposed 

rule change, or (b) institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

change should be 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– 

Phlx–2024–54 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–Phlx–2024–54. 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–Phlx–2024–54 and should be 

submitted on or before November 27, 

2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.8

Vanessa A. Countryman, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25728 Filed 11–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–101489; File No. SR–ICC– 

2024–012] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE 

Clear Credit LLC; Notice of Filing of 

Proposed Rule Change Relating to the 

ICC End-of-Day Price Discovery 

Policies and Procedures 

October 31, 2024. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934,1 and 

Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is 

hereby given that on October 21, 2024, 

ICE Clear Credit LLC (‘‘ICC’’) 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 primarily prepared by ICC. 

The Commission is publishing this 

notice to solicit comments on the 

proposed rule change from interested 

persons. 

I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Terms of Substance of the Proposed 

Rule Change 

The principal purpose of the 

proposed rule change is to revise the 

End-of-Day Price Discovery Policies and 

Procedures (‘‘EOD Procedures’’). These 

revisions do not require any changes to 

the ICC Clearing Rules (the ‘‘Rules’’). 

II. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

In its filing with the Commission, ICC 

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. ICC has prepared 

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

and (C) below, of the most significant 

aspects of these statements. 

(A) Clearing Agency’s Statement of the 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

(a) Purpose 

ICC proposes to revise the EOD 

Procedures, which sets out ICC’s end-ofday (‘‘EOD’’) price discovery process 

that provides prices for cleared 

contracts using submissions made by 

Clearing Participants (‘‘CPs’’). ICC 

believes such revisions will facilitate 

the prompt and accurate clearance and 

settlement of securities transactions and 

derivative agreements, contracts, and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 6, 2024 / Notices 88095 

3 Index risk factor is defined in Section 1.2.1.a. of 

the EOD Procedures as a group of clearable CDS 

index instruments sharing the same index or subindex (e.g., CDX.NA.IG), but having any 

combination of series, version and scheduled 

termination date (i.e., tenor). 

4Single name risk factor is defined in Section 

1.2.1.b. of the EOD Procedures as the group of 

clearable single name CDS instruments sharing the 

same refence entity but having any combination of 

currency of denomination, reference obligation debt 

tier, restructuring clause, coupon and scheduled 

termination date. 

5Single name sub-risk factor is defined in Section 

1.2.1.b. of the EOD Procedures as a group of 

clearable single name CDS instruments sharing the 

same refence entity, currency of denomination, 

reference obligation debt tier, but having any 

combination of coupon and scheduled termination 

date. 

6Under applicable ISDA Credit Derivatives 

Definitions, ‘XR14’ references no restructuring 

under the 2014 ISDA Definitions. 

7Section 2.1 of the EOD Procedures. 

transactions for which it is responsible. 

ICC proposes to make such changes 

effective following Commission 

approval of the proposed rule change. 

The proposed amendments are 

described in detail as follows. 

The primary purpose of the proposed 

revisions is to address Commodity 

Futures Trading Commission (‘‘CFTC’’) 

exam findings. As requested for 

clarification purposes by the CFTC, the 

proposed changes highlight that the 

meaning of the term ‘Most-ActivelyTraded-Instrument’ (‘‘MATI’’) is 

context-dependent. As MATI is defined 

to refer to the most-liquid instrument in 

a specified group of instruments, 

application of MATI is contextdependent on the specific group of 

instruments under review. 

In order to clarify the meaning of 

MATI the proposed revisions provide 

examples of the meaning of MATI when 

used in the context of different groups 

of instruments defined as: (i) index risk 

factors,3 (ii) single name risk factors 4

and (iii) single name risk sub-factors.5

The proposed examples illustrate the 

most common contexts for the use of the 

term MATI throughout the EOD 

Procedures. Specifically, ICC proposes 

to revise Section 1.2.3., in which the 

term MATI is defined, to include the 

following examples of the application of 

the term MATI to different groups of 

instruments. In the context of index risk 

factors, the proposed revisions provide 

that the MATI for this category typically 

is the contract (i) with a scheduled 

termination date corresponding to the 5- 

year ‘‘tenor’’ and (ii) being the most 

recent series and version of the 

applicable cleared credit default swap 

(‘‘CDS’’) index instrument. In the 

context of single name risk factors, the 

proposed revisions provide an example 

of the MATI for a Standard North 

American Corporate single name risk 

factor (which is an example of a single 

name risk factor) which typically is the 

contract (i) with a scheduled 

termination date corresponding to the 5- 

year ‘‘tenor,’’ (ii) having US Dollar as 

the currency of denomination, (iii) 

having a coupon of 100 basis points, (iv) 

referencing deliverable obligations 

having a senior debt tier, and (v) having 

‘XR14’ 6 restructuring clause. In the 

context of single name risk sub-factor, 

proposed revisions provide the example 

of the MATI which is the most actively 

traded coupon and scheduled 

termination date in the group of single 

name instruments sharing the same 

reference entity, currency of 

denomination, reference entity debt tier 

and restructuring clause. In addition, 

ICC proposes to add a second example 

of the MATI in the context of a specific 

coupon within a single name risk subfactor, which is the most actively traded 

schedule termination date (i.e., tenor) in 

the group of single name instruments 

sharing the same reference entity, 

currency of denomination, reference 

entity debt tier, restructuring clause and 

coupon. 

In addition, ICC proposes additional 

clarifying revisions to Section 1.2.3. of 

the EOD Procedures to clarify that the 

term Most Actively Traded Coupon 

(‘‘MATC’’) refers to the coupon of the 

MATI for a single name risk factor, or 

single name risk sub-factor, depending 

on the stated context. 

ICC believes its proposed revisions to 

describe the use of the terms MATI and 

MATC provides a clearer, more robust 

context to the information presented in 

the EOD Procedures. Also, ICC proposes 

to revise Section 5, Table 12 ‘Glossary 

of Commonly Used Terms’, to align with 

the revised terms presented earlier in 

the EOD Procedures. 

Furthermore, ICC proposes revisions 

to Sections 2.1.2. of the EOD Procedures 

to clarify the definition and use of 

consensus bid-offer widths (‘‘BOW’’). As 

background, BOWs are estimates of the 

bid-offer widths for the two-way market 

available for each clearing-eligible 

instrument at a specific time on each 

business day.7 ICC proposes to clarify in 

Section 2.1.2. to describe consensus 

BOW as the estimate of the prevailing 

market BOW during a given period. In 

addition, such revisions clarify that ICC 

determines a consensus BOW for each 

on-the-run index and for all single name 

benchmark-instruments at the 

appropriate EOD BOW execution time. 

ICC also proposes to add further detail 

to Section 2.1.2. with respect to ICC’s 

estimates of consensus BOWs to add 

that such estimations are performed 

with respect to each index risk factor 

MATI. Also, with respect to consensus 

BOWs for single name instruments, ICC 

proposes to add additional detail to 

Section 2.1.2. to clarify that ICC 

estimates a consensus BOW from 

Clearing Participant submitted midprices for all single name benchmarkinstruments. 

In addition, ICC proposes to revise 

Section 2.1.4. of the EOD Procedures to 

more accurately describe the calculation 

of EOD BOWs, which is the BOW 

calculated for each clearing-eligible 

instrument at the applicable end of the 

clearing day. Specifically, ICC proposes 

to revise Section 2.1.4.a. to clarify that 

the reference to consensus BOW means 

such consensus BOW established of the 

instrument for which the EOD BOW is 

being calculated. Furthermore, ICC 

proposes to revise Section 2.1.4.b. 

which describes the process for 

calculating EOD BOWs for single name 

instruments. Such proposed revisions 

are intended to improve clarity and 

readability. In the description of the 

factors ICC applies to each consensus 

BOW, the proposes revisions clarify that 

such list of factors includes observed 

intraday price variability. Also, the 

proposed revisions add the description 

that the benchmark-instrument BOW 

resulting after applying the listed factors 

to the benchmark-instrument consensus 

BOW is referred to in the EOD 

Procedures as the benchmarkinstrument ‘systematic’ BOW. Further, 

ICC proposes to add details related to 

ICC’s determination of the systematic 

BOW for each benchmark-instrument 

for non-MATC coupons to clarify that 

ICC’s calculation involves use of the 

benchmark-instrument consensus BOW 

established for non-MATC benchmarkinstruments belonging to the given 

single name risk sub-factor. The 

proposed amendments also modify the 

titles in Table 2, Table 4, and Table 6, 

which present very similar information, 

to clarify their distinct uses. ICC 

proposes to (i) modify the title of Table 

2 to indicate the presented data is for 

the purpose of determining the 

variability band for each market proxy 

group, (ii) modify the title of Table 4 to 

indicate the presented data is for the 

purpose of selecting which market 

proxy group’s variability band to apply 

to each index risk factor, and (iii) 

modify the title of Table 6 to indicate 

the presented data is for the purpose of 

selecting which market-proxy groups’ 

variability band to apply to the 

benchmark-instruments associated with 

each given single name risk factor. 

Furthermore, ICC proposes to revise the 

content of Table 4 to remove obsolete 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
88096 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 6, 2024 / Notices 

8 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 

9 17 CFR 240.17ad–22. 

10 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

11 Id. 

12 17 CFR 240.17ad–22. 

13 17 CFR 240.17ad–22(e)(2)(i) and (v). 

14 Id. 

15 17 CFR 240.17ad–22(e)(3)(i). 16 Id. 

references to the CDX–NAIGHVOL and 

iTraxx HiVol index risk factors as those 

index types are no longer clearing 

eligible at ICC. Also, ICC proposes to 

update the content of Table 6 to clarify 

that both the Standard Latin American 

and Standard Australia single name risk 

factors includes not only sovereign 

single instruments, but also corporate 

instruments, to more accurately reflect 

the single name risk factors currently 

cleared at ICC. 

Finally, ICC purposes to revise 

Section 2.5. of the EOD Procedures to 

revise the instruments for which ICC 

publishes daily EOD prices on the 

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (‘‘ICE, 

Inc.’’) website. This proposed change is 

to address a CFTC exam finding related 

to publication of CDS index instrument 

daily settlement prices. ICC currently 

publishes EOD prices for a subset of 

cleared index instruments to the 

website, but proposes to revise this 

practice to instead publish EOD prices 

for every clearing eligible index 

instrument as required by the CFTC. 

Furthermore, ICC proposes to revise 

Section 2.5. to clarify the description of 

the single name instruments for which 

it publishes daily EOD prices on the 

website. Section 2.5. currently states 

that ICC publishes prices for every listed 

risk sub-factor, and ICC proposes to 

clarify this description to state that for 

every single name risk sub-factor, ICC 

publishes the price of all MATI for each 

clearable coupon, which is a more 

accurate description of the daily single 

name settlement prices ICC publishes 

on the ICE, Inc. Website. ICC believes 

the proposed daily publication of 

settlement prices for all clearing eligible 

index instruments will improve pricing 

transparency to market participants and 

the public. 

ICC also proposes a number of other 

drafting clarifications and conforming 

changes to the EOD Procedures, such as 

updating the use of relevant defined 

terms, section cross-references and other 

non-substantive drafting improvements 

The amendments would also update the 

revision history section to the EOD 

Procedures. 

(b) Statutory Basis 

ICC believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the 

requirements of Section 17A of the Act 8

and the regulations thereunder 

applicable to it, including the applicable 

standards under Rule 17Ad–22.9 In 

particular, Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the 

Act 10 requires that the rule change be 

consistent with the prompt and accurate 

clearance and settlement of securities 

transactions and derivative agreements, 

contracts and transactions cleared by 

ICC, the safeguarding of securities and 

funds in the custody or control of ICC 

or for which it is responsible, and the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest. ICC believes that the proposed 

amendments promote its ability to 

maintain the effectiveness and integrity 

of its EOD price discovery process. The 

clarifications to the MATI, MATC and 

BOW further ensure that the EOD 

Procedures remain effective, clear, and 

up-to-date to support the effectiveness 

of ICC’s EOD price discovery process. 

The proposed rule change is therefore 

consistent with the prompt and accurate 

clearing and settlement of the contracts 

cleared by ICC, the safeguarding of 

securities and funds in the custody or 

control of ICC or for which it is 

responsible, and the protection of 

investors and the public interest, within 

the meaning of Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of 

the Act.11

The amendments would also satisfy 

relevant requirements of Rule 17Ad– 

22.12 Rule 17Ad–22(e)(2)(i) and (v) 13

requires each covered clearing agency to 

establish, implement, maintain, and 

enforce written policies and procedures 

reasonably designed to provide for 

governance arrangements that are clear 

and transparent and specify clear and 

direct lines of responsibility. The EOD 

Procedures continue to subject the ICC 

EOD price discovery process to a 

governance and oversight structure that 

promotes transparency and 

accountability and clearly assigns and 

documents responsibility for relevant 

actions and decisions. ICC believes that 

the proposed changes would promote 

transparency in ICC’s price discovery 

process by providing additional clarity 

and transparency in ICC’s EOD price 

discovery process by clarifying and 

defining the use of MATI, MATC and 

consensus BOW. As such, the proposed 

revisions continue to ensure that ICC 

maintains policies and procedures that 

are reasonably designed to provide for 

clear and transparent governance 

arrangements and specify clear and 

direct lines of responsibility, consistent 

with the requirements of Rule 17Ad– 

22(e)(2)(i) and (v).14

Rule 17Ad–22(e)(3)(i) 15 requires each 

covered clearing agency to establish, 

implement, maintain, and enforce 

written policies and procedures 

reasonably designed to maintain a 

sound risk management framework for 

comprehensively managing legal, credit, 

liquidity, operational, general business, 

investment, custody, and other risks 

that arise in or are borne by the covered 

clearing agency, which includes risk 

management policies, procedures, and 

systems designed to identify, measure, 

monitor, and manage the range of risks 

that arise in or are borne by the covered 

clearing agency, that are subject to 

review on a specified periodic basis and 

approved by the board of directors 

annually. ICC maintains a sound risk 

management framework that identifies, 

measures, monitors, and manages the 

range of risks that it faces. The EOD 

Procedures is a key aspect of ICC’s risk 

management approach, which continues 

to be subject to review on a specified 

periodic basis and approved by the 

Board annually. The proposed 

amendments provide for additional 

clarity regarding the calculation of EOD 

prices, and the expansion of the daily 

publication of EOD prices. In ICC’s 

view, such changes would promote 

transparency in ICC’s price discovery 

process and thus enhance 

implementation of the EOD Procedures. 

The proposed changes would thus 

strengthen ICC’s ability to manage risk 

associated with its price discovery 

process, and ICC’s risk management 

more generally as ICC uses the resulting 

EOD prices for risk management 

purposes, and ICC would continue to 

derive reliable, market-driven prices 

from its price discovery process. As 

such, the amendments would satisfy the 

requirements of Rule 17Ad–22(e)(3)(i).16

(B) Clearing Agency’s Statement on 

Burden on Competition 

ICC does not believe the proposed 

rule change would have any impact, or 

impose any burden, on competition. 

The proposed changes to the EOD 

Procedures will apply uniformly across 

all market participants. Therefore, ICC 

does not believe the amendments would 

impose any burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

(C) Clearing Agency’s Statement on 

Comments on the Proposed Rule 

Received From Members, Participants or 

Others 

Written comments relating to the 

proposed rule change have not been 

solicited or received. ICC will notify the 

Commission of any written comments 

received by ICC. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 6, 2024 / Notices 88097 

17 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76952 

(January 21, 2016), 81 FR 4721 (January 27, 2016) 

(SR–BX–2016–003). 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83192 

(May 9, 2018), 83 FR 22563 (May 15, 2018) (SR– 

BX–2018–017). 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 45 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period 

up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may 

designate if it finds such longer period 

to be appropriate and publishes its 

reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which 

the self-regulatory organization 

consents, the Commission will: 

(A) by order approve or disapprove 

such proposed rule change, or 

(B) institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be 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-regulations/self-regulatoryorganization-rulemaking); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

ICC–2024–012 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–ICC–2024–012. 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 website (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules-regulations/self-regulatoryorganization-rulemaking). 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 such filings 

will also be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of ICE 

Clear Credit and on ICE Clear Credit’s 

website at https://www.ice.com/clearcredit/regulation. 

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–ICC–2024–012 and 

should be submitted on or before 

November 27, 2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.17

Vanessa A. Countryman, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25730 Filed 11–5–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–101496; File No. SR–BX– 

2024–044] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend BX Options 7, 

Section 3 

October 31, 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 October 

18, 2024, Nasdaq BX, Inc. (‘‘BX’’ 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 

Options 7, Section 3. 

While these amendments are effective 

upon filing, the Exchange has 

designated the proposed amendments to 

be operative on January 1, 2025. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/ 

rulebook/bx/rules, at the principal office 

of the Exchange, and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The purpose of the proposed rule 

change is to amend the Exchange’s SQF 

Port Fee and SQF Purge Port Fee. 

Specifically, the Exchange proposes to 

raise its SQF Port Fee and SQF Purge 

Port Fee in Options 7, Section 3 by 10%. 

Today, BX assesses an SQF Port and 

an SQF Purge Port a $500 per port, per 

month fee. With this proposal, BX 

would assess Market Makers an SQF 

Port Fee and an SQF Purge Port Fee of 

$550 per port, per month (a 10% 

increase from $500). 

The proposed SQF Port Fee and SQF 

Purge Port Fee increases would enable 

the Exchange to maintain and improve 

its market technology and services to 

remain competitive with its peers. Over 

the years, customer demand for risk 

protections and capacity has increased. 

The Exchange continues to invest in 

maintaining, improving, and enhancing 

its port protocols—for the benefit and 

often at the behest of its customers. 

Such enhancements include refreshing 

hardware, upgrading risk protections 

and information security, and offering 

customers additional capacity. The 

Exchange has not increased BX’s SQF 

Port Fee since 2016,3 and has not 

increased its SQF Purge Port Fee since 

2017 4 where inflation has been between 

roughly 14%–17%, as measured using 

the metric described below. 

Nevertheless, the Exchange proposes to 

increase its SQF Port Fee by 10%, only 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES