Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 18, 2015 / Notices 8741 

20 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. 73299 

(October 3, 2014), 79 FR 61120 (October 9, 2014) 

(Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

File No. SR–FINRA–2014–041); see also Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 67208 (June 15, 2012), 77 

FR 37458 (June 21, 2012) (Order Approving File No. 

SR–FINRA–2011–058, as amended). 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 65568 

(October 14, 2011), 76 FR 65307 (October 20, 2011) 

(Notice of Filing of File No. SR–FINRA–2011–058). 

5 ‘‘OTC Equity Security’’ means any equity 

security that is not an ‘‘NMS stock’’ as that term is 

defined in Rule 600(b)(47) of SEC Regulation NMS; 

provided, however, that the term OTC Equity 

Security shall not include any Restricted Equity 

Security. See FINRA Rule 6420. 

6FINRA believes that adequate data with which 

to assess the impact of the Pilot has been collection 

and analyzed, and, therefore, will cease the 

collection of Pilot data for submission to the 

Commission as of February 13, 2015. 

7The assessment is part of the SEC’s comment file 

for SR–FINRA–2011–058 and also is available on 

FINRA’s Web site at: http://www.finra.org/Industry/ 

Regulation/RuleFilings/2011/P124615 (‘‘Pilot 

Assessment’’). 

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 70839 

(November 8, 2013), 78 FR 68893 (November 15, 

2013) (Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness 

of File No. SR–FINRA–2013–049). 

9 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(6). 

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 at 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090 on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 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 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR–BYX– 

2015–07, and should be submitted on or 

before March 11, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.20

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03223 Filed 2–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74251; File No. SR–FINRA– 

2015–002] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Extend the Tier Size 

Pilot of FINRA Rule 6433 (Minimum 

Quotation Size Requirements for OTC 

Equity Securities) 

February 11, 2015. 

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 

29, 2015, the Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) 

the proposed rule change as described 

in Items I and II below, which Items 

have been prepared by FINRA. 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 the Substance 

of the Proposed Rule Change 

FINRA is proposing to amend FINRA 

Rule 6433 (Minimum Quotation Size 

Requirements for OTC Equity 

Securities) to extend the Tier Size Pilot, 

which currently is scheduled to expire 

on February 13, 2015, for an additional 

three months, until May 15, 2015. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on FINRA’s Web site at 

http://www.finra.org, at the principal 

office of FINRA 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, 

FINRA 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. FINRA 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 

FINRA proposes to amend FINRA 

Rule 6433 (Minimum Quotation Size 

Requirements for OTC Equity 

Securities) (the ‘‘Rule’’) to extend, until 

May 15, 2015, the amendments set forth 

in File No. SR–FINRA–2011–058 (‘‘Tier 

Size Pilot’’ or ‘‘Pilot’’), which currently 

are scheduled to expire on February 13, 

2015.3

The Tier Size Pilot was filed with the 

SEC on October 6, 2011,4 to amend the 

minimum quotation sizes (or ‘‘tier 

sizes’’) for OTC Equity Securities.5 The 

goals of the Pilot were to simplify the 

tier structure, facilitate the display of 

customer limit orders, and expand the 

scope of the Rule to apply to additional 

quoting participants. During the course 

of the pilot, FINRA collected and 

provided to the SEC specified data with 

which to assess the impact of the Pilot 

tiers on market quality and limit order 

display.6 On September 13, 2013, 

FINRA provided to the Commission an 

assessment on the operation of the Tier 

Size Pilot utilizing data covering the 

period from November 12, 2012 through 

June 30, 2013.7 As noted in the 2013 

Assessment, FINRA believed that the 

analysis of the data generally showed 

that the Tier Size Pilot had a neutral to 

positive impact on OTC market quality 

for the majority of OTC Equity 

Securities and tiers; and that there was 

an overall increase of 13% in the 

number of customer limit orders that 

met the minimum quotation sizes to be 

eligible for display under the Pilot tiers. 

In the 2013 Assessment, FINRA 

recommended adopting the tiers as 

permanent, but extended the pilot 

period to allow more time to gather and 

analyze data after the November 12, 

2012 through June 30, 2013 assessment 

period.8 Most recently, on October 9, 

2014, FINRA further extended the Pilot 

period to permit FINRA and the 

Commission to consider the 

implications of the data collected since 

June 30, 2013. FINRA has reviewed this 

post-June 30, 2013 data, and believes 

that the impact described in the 2013 

Assessment has continued to hold (and 

has improved in certain areas). 

The purpose of this filing is to extend 

the operation of the Tier Size Pilot for 

an additional three month period, until 

May 15, 2015, to provide FINRA with 

additional time to finalize its 

recommendation with regard to the Tier 

Size Pilot. 

FINRA has filed the proposed rule 

change for immediate effectiveness. The 

effective date of the proposed rule 

change will be the date of filing. 

2. Statutory Basis 

FINRA believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the provisions 

of Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act,9 which 

requires, among other things, that 

FINRA rules must be designed to 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
8742 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 18, 2015 / Notices 

10 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(11). 

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

12 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 

requires a self-regulatory organization to give the 

Commission written notice of its intent to file 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. 

13 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

14 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii). 

15For 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). 

16 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, and, in 

general, to protect investors and the 

public interest. FINRA also believes that 

the proposed rule change is consistent 

with the provisions of Section 

15A(b)(11) of the Act.10 Section 

15A(b)(11) requires that FINRA rules 

include provisions governing the form 

and content of quotations relating to 

securities sold otherwise than on a 

national securities exchange which may 

be distributed or published by any 

member or person associated with a 

member, and the persons to whom such 

quotations may be supplied. 

FINRA believes that the extension of 

the Tier Size Pilot for an additional 

three months is consistent with the Act 

in that it would provide the 

Commission and FINRA with additional 

time to determine whether the pilot tiers 

should be made permanent. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

FINRA 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. 

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: (i) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) 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 11 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) thereunder.12

A proposed rule change filed under 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 13 normally does not 

become operative prior to 30 days after 

the date of the filing. However, pursuant 

to Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii),14 the 

Commission may designate a shorter 

time if such action is consistent with the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest. 

FINRA has asked the Commission to 

waive the 30-day operative delay so that 

the proposal may become operative 

immediately upon filing. The 

Commission believes that waiver of the 

operative delay is consistent with the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest because such waiver will allow 

the pilot program to continue without 

interruption. Therefore, the Commission 

designates the proposal operative upon 

filing.15

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 shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

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

rules/sro.shtml ); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

FINRA–2015–002 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities 

and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–FINRA–2015–002. 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 St. NE., 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of FINRA. 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–FINRA– 

2015–002, and should be submitted on 

or before March 11, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.16

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03224 Filed 2–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74253; File No. SR–CBOE– 

2015–014) 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Chicago Board Options Exchange, 

Incorporated; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the Fees 

Schedule 

February 11, 2015. 

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 February 

2, 2015, Chicago Board Options 

Exchange, Incorporated (the ‘‘Exchange’’ 

or ‘‘CBOE’’) 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 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES