2650 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2022 / Notices 

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

13 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 14 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93709 

(December 2, 2021), 86 FR 69687 (December 8, 

2021) (SR–NSCC–2021–013) (‘‘Notice’’). 

4Capitalized terms not defined herein are defined 

in the Rules, available at http://www.dtcc.com/ 

legal/rules-and-procedures. 

5See Section 2 of Rule 2, supra note 4. 

6 Id. 

7See Rule 53, supra note 4. See also definition 

of ‘‘AIP Non-Member Fund’’ in Rule 1, id. 

Rule Change would not affect the ability 

of Clearing Members or other market 

participants generally to engage in 

cleared transactions or to access clearing 

services. Additionally, the clearing fee 

conditions remain transparent and 

equally applicable to any category of 

market participant wishing to access the 

CDSClear clearing service for all 

proposed products including those that 

are not mandatory for clearing. 

Further, as explained above, LCH SA 

believes that the fee rates remain set up 

at an appropriate level given the costs 

and expenses to LCH SA in offering the 

relevant clearing services. 

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) 12 of the 

Act and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) 13 thereunder 

because it establishes a fee or other 

charge imposed by LCH SA on its 

Clearing Members. At any time within 

60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 

change, the Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such proposed 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: 

• 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– 

LCH SA–2021–004 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–LCH SA–2021–004. This 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

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

filings will also be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of LCH SA and on LCH SA’s 

website at https://www.lch.com/ 

resources/rulebooks/proposed-rulechanges. All comments received will be 

posted without change. Persons 

submitting comments are cautioned that 

we do not redact or edit personal 

identifying information from comment 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR–LCH 

SA–2021–004 and should be submitted 

on or before February 8, 2022. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.14

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00751 Filed 1–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–93953; File No. SR–NSCC– 

2021–013] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

National Securities Clearing 

Corporation; Order Approving 

Proposed Rule Change To Provide for 

a Passive Acknowledgment Process, 

Codify Certain Settlement Processes, 

and Make Technical and Conforming 

Changes to the NSCC Rules & 

Procedures 

January 11, 2022. 

I. Introduction 

On November 18, 2021, National 

Securities Clearing Corporation 

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

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’), 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

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

proposed rule change SR–NSCC–2021– 

013. The proposed rule change was 

published for comment in the Federal 

Register on December 8, 2021.3 The 

Commission did not receive any 

comment letters on the proposed rule 

change. For the reasons discussed 

below, the Commission is approving the 

proposed rule change. 

II. Description of the Proposed Rule 

Change 

NSCC proposes to modify its Rules 

and Procedures (‘‘Rules’’) 4 in order to 

(i) provide for a passive 

acknowledgment process whereby any 

settling bank that does not timely 

acknowledge its intention to pay to or 

collect its settlement balance from 

NSCC), or refuse to settle for one or 

more members for which it is the 

designated settling bank and has not 

otherwise been in contact with NSCC, 

would be deemed to have acknowledged 

its settlement balances, (ii) amend the 

definition of AIP Settling Bank and 

remove AIP Settling Bank Only Member 

as a membership category, (iii) codify 

certain settlement processes, and (iv) 

make certain technical and conforming 

changes. 

A. Current Settlement Process 

NSCC membership consists of 

Members that have access to NSCC’s 

guaranteed central counterparty services 

and Limited Members that have access 

to NSCC’s non-guaranteed services, 

such as Mutual Fund Services and 

Alternative Investment Product Services 

(‘‘AIP’’).5 Limited Members that only 

have access to AIP are referred to as AIP 

Members.6 AIP Non-Member Funds are 

entities that are not AIP Members but 

that NSCC has approved to settle AIP 

Payments.7

NSCC provides two separate 

standardized, automated money 

settlement processes: (i) End of day 

settlement for Members and Limited 

Members other than AIP Members 

(‘‘EOD Settlement’’), and (ii) daily 

settlement for AIP Members and AIP 

Non-Member Funds (‘‘AIP 


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8See Section 1 of Rule 12 and Section 7 of Rule 

53, supra note 4. All AIP money settlement is 

effected on a gross basis, where on the applicable 

settlement date, AIP debits are collected first, and 

then all contra-side credits, where the 

corresponding debits have been collected, are paid. 

See Section 9 of Rule 55, supra note 4. 

9The use of ‘‘members’’ here refers to any 

participant that is required to appoint a Settling 

Bank or AIP Settling Bank, which includes 

Members, Limited Members including AIP 

Members, and AIP Non-Member Funds. See Section 

1 of Rule 12 and Section 7(h) of Rule 53, supra note 

4. 

10The use of ‘‘settling banks’’ here refers 

collectively to Settling Banks and AIP Settling 

Banks. Settling Banks settle on behalf of Members 

and Limited Members with respect to EOD 

Settlement and AIP Settling Banks settle on behalf 

of AIP Members and AIP Non-Member Funds with 

respect to AIP Settlement. See Section 1 of Rule 12 

and Section 7(g) of Rule 53, supra note 4. 

11See Section 1 of Rule 12 and Section 7(h) of 

Rule 53, supra note 4. 

12See Section D.2 of Procedure VIII of NSCC’s 

Rules, supra note 4. For a general description of the 

NSS, see National Settlement Service, available at 

https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/ 

national-settlement-service/index.html. 

13 ‘‘Settlement Agent’’ means the bank or trust 

company that NSCC may, from time to time, 

designate to act as its agent for purposes of 

receiving money settlement debit amounts from 

Settling Banks and participants and paying money 

settlement credit amounts to Settling Banks and 

participants. See Rule 1, supra note 4. 

14For EOD Settlement, NSCC’s settlement process 

is centralized with DTC’s end-of-day money 

settlement (‘‘DTC Settlement’’) through a netting 

procedure called a cross-endorsement, in which 

each participant’s net debit at one organization is 

netted against its net credit at the other 

organization. See DTC’s Settlement Service Guide, 

available at https://www.dtcc.com/∼/media/Files/ 

Downloads/legal/service-guides/Settlement.pdf. 

15For EOD Settlement, NSCC provides Settling 

Banks a net-net debit or net-net credit number, 

where ‘‘net-net’’ refers to the end-of-day net-net 

settlement balance for each Settling Bank that 

settles on behalf of more than one Member is the 

net of the net debit and net credit balances of all 

Members for which that Settling Bank settles, after 

cross-endorsement with DTC, including the Settling 

Bank’s own settlement obligations as a Member if 

it settles for itself. See Section 2 of Rule 55, supra 

note 4; DTC’s Settlement Service Guide, id. For AIP 

Settlement, NSCC provides each AIP Settling Bank 

an aggregate gross debit number and an aggregate 

gross credit number with respect to each AIP 

Member or AIP Non-Member Fund on whose behalf 

it settles. See Section 9 of Rule 55, supra note 4. 

16NSCC represents that, pursuant to its 

settlement procedures, AIP Settling Banks must 

affirmatively acknowledge or refuse to settle in the 

same manner as Settling Banks. See Notice, supra 

note 3, at 69688. 

17A Settling Bank that is a Member and settles 

solely for its own accounts may opt out of the 

requirement to acknowledge its settlement balances, 

which NSCC states is an operational convenience 

because the Settling Bank may not refuse to settle 

for itself. See Section D.1 of Procedure VIII, supra 

note 4; Notice, supra note 3, at 69690 (representing 

that because Members are required to also be DTC 

participants, the Settling Bank Member would be 

subject to DTC’s rules, which prohibit a Settling 

Bank from refusing to settle for itself). The passive 

acknowledgment process would not apply to such 

NSCC Settling Banks that have chosen to opt out 

of the requirement to acknowledge its settlement 

balances. See Notice, supra note 3, at 69690. 

18See Section D of Procedure VIII of NSCC’s 

Rules, supra note 4. 

19See Section D.2 of Procedure VIII of NSCC’s 

Rules, supra note 4. 

20See Section D.1 of Procedure VIII of NSCC’s 

Rules, supra note 4. 

21The net-net settlement balances are made 

available at approximately 3:45 p.m., and the NSS 

execution time for EOD Settlement is 4:30 p.m. See 

DTC’s Settlement Service Guide, supra note 14. 

22NSCC has posted AIP Settlement times on its 

website, which provide that AIP Settling Banks first 

pay debits to NSCC at approximately 11 a.m., and 

then NSCC pays credits to AIP Settling Banks at 

approximately 2 p.m. See NSCC’s Transaction 

Flows (as of 2021–01), available at https://

www.dtcc.com/wealth-management-services/ 

alternative-investment-products/aip. 

23See Notice, supra note 3, at 69689. 

24See id. 

25See supra note 13. 

26See DTC’s Settlement Service Guide, supra 

note 14. See also supra text accompanying note 21. 

27See supra note 22 and accompanying text. 

NSCC also proposes to add a statement to its Rules 

that it would post the settlement deadlines for AIP 

Settlement on the NSCC website as it currently 

does. 

Settlement’’).8 Each member 9

designates a settling bank 10 to settle its 

payment obligations with NSCC.11

Money settlement is effected via the 

Federal Reserve Banks’ National 

Settlement Service (‘‘NSS’’).12

The Depository Trust Company 

(‘‘DTC’’) acts as NSCC’s Settlement 

Agent 13 for both EOD Settlement and 

AIP Settlement. On a daily basis, NSCC 

calculates settlement payment amounts 

for EOD Settlement 14 and for AIP 

Settlement and reports to its members 

and their respective settling banks, a 

settlement balance.15

Once the settling banks receive the 

settlement balances, the settling banks 

must submit 16 either (1) 

acknowledgment that they will settle 

their balances with NSCC, or (2) refusal 

to settle such amount on behalf of one 

or more of their respective members.17

The acknowledgment or refusal 

submission occurs through a designated 

terminal system.18 For both EOD 

Settlement and AIP Settlement, if all of 

the NSCC Settling Banks submit 

acknowledgments of their intent to 

settle, then the Settlement Agent will 

submit the requisite file to the relevant 

Federal Reserve Bank (‘‘FRB’’) for 

processing through the NSS.19

If settling bank notifies the Settlement 

Agent that it refuses to pay the 

settlement balance for a member, then 

NSCC will exclude that member’s 

settlement balance and the Settlement 

Agent will provide the settling bank 

with a new settlement balance that no 

longer includes the excluded amount. 

The settling bank must then 

immediately send a message to the 

Settlement Agent acknowledging the 

new amount.20 The Settlement Agent 

will then submit the requisite file to the 

FRB for processing through the NSS. 

For EOD Settlement, the current 

deadline for Settling Banks to 

acknowledge or refuse net-net 

settlement balances is the later of 4:15 

p.m. or 30 minutes after net-net 

settlement balances are made available 

to the Settling Bank.21 For AIP 

Settlement, the current deadline is 9:30 

a.m. for debit acknowledgment or 

refusal and is 12:30 p.m. for credit 

acknowledgment or refusal.22 If a 

settling bank does not acknowledge or 

refuse by the applicable deadline, the 

Settlement Agent will use the most 

recent contact information available to 

contact the settling bank. If the 

Settlement Agent is unable to make 

contact or does not receive a response 

from the settling bank as to the 

acknowledgment or refusal, NSCC states 

that it must then determine whether to 

request an NSS extension while also 

determining whether to remove the 

settling bank’s settlement balance from 

the NSS file.23

Under the current process, a settling 

bank’s failure to timely respond to the 

Settlement Agent after the Settlement 

Agent posts final settlement numbers 

creates uncertainty with respect to 

timely completion of settlement at 

NSCC. NSCC states that it designed the 

proposed rule change to address this 

issue, as discussed below.24

B. Proposed Rule Change 

NSCC proposes to establish an 

‘‘Acknowledgment Cutoff Time’’ for 

EOD Settlement and an ‘‘AIP 

Acknowledgment Cutoff Time’’ for AIP 

Settlement after which NSCC would 

apply the passive acknowledgment 

process if it is unable to reach a settling 

bank. NSCC proposes that, since EOD 

Settlement is centralized with DTC 

Settlement,25 the Acknowledgment 

Cutoff Time will be the 

Acknowledgment Cutoff Time 

established by DTC in its Settlement 

Service Guide.26 The ‘‘AIP 

Acknowledgement Cutoff Time’’ would 

be the later of (i) 30 minutes after the 

AIP Settling Bank has been notified of 

its AIP Debit Balance or AIP Credit 

Balance, and (ii) 30 minutes prior to the 

settlement deadline established by 

NSCC.27

1. Passive Acknowledgement Process 

If a settling bank (i) does not submit 

either (1) an acknowledgement that it 

would settle its settlement balance with 

NSCC, or (2) a refusal to pay the 

settlement balance, by the 

Acknowledgement Cutoff Time, and (ii) 

has not been in contact with the 


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28Passive acknowledgment will not apply if the 

Settling Bank has notified the Settlement Agent that 

it cannot yet acknowledge or refuse its settlement 

balance. 

29See Notice, supra note 3, at 69691. 

30See supra notes 21–22. 

31See Notice, supra note 3, at 69693. 

32See supra note 16. 

33This requirement will also apply to an AIP 

Settling Bank’s acknowledgment of new settlement 

balances following an initial refusal. 

34See supra text accompanying note 18. 

35See Notice, supra note 3, at 69691–93. 

36See id. at 69692–93. 

37See id. 

38See id. See also, Notice cited supra note 17 

Notice, supra note 3, at 69690 (representing that 

because Members are required to also be DTC 

participants, the Settling Bank Member would be 

subject to DTC’s rules, including its settlement 

procedures). 

39See id. at 69692–93. 

40 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(C). 41 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 42 Id. 

Settlement Agent,28 then the Settlement 

Agent would attempt to contact the 

settling bank. This passive 

acknowledgement process would also 

apply in situations where the settling 

bank receives a new settlement balance 

after such settling bank’s refusal to pay 

a settlement balance for one or more 

members. Additionally, to facilitate the 

Settlement Agent’s ability to contact 

settling banks, NSCC proposes to revise 

the Rules to state that each settling bank 

must ensure that it maintains accurate 

contact details with the Settlement 

Agent so that the Settlement Agent may 

contact the settling bank regarding this 

settlement process and any settlement 

issues. 

If the settling bank cannot be reached, 

then the settling bank would be deemed 

to have acknowledged that it will settle 

such settlement amounts with NSCC. 

The settling bank’s settlement balance 

will then, in the ordinary course of 

settlement processing, be debited from 

or credited to its FRB account through 

the NSS process along with the other 

settling banks. 

2. Definition of ‘‘AIP Settling Bank’’ 

NSCC proposes to amend the 

definition of AIP Settling Bank to mirror 

the definition of Settling Bank and 

remove AIP Settling Bank Only Member 

as a membership category. NSCC 

represents that, since the inception of 

AIP, there have been no AIP Members 

that have acted as AIP Settling Banks 

and there have been no entities that 

have become AIP Settling Bank Only 

Members.29 In addition, NSCC proposes 

to maintain a list of Members and 

Settling Bank Only Members that have 

agreed to act as AIP Settling Banks. 

3. Certain Settlement Processes 

NSCC proposes to retain its discretion 

to remove the settling bank’s settlement 

balance from the NSS file if: (1) Passive 

acknowledgement does not apply 

because the settling bank has notified 

the Settlement Agent that it cannot yet 

acknowledge or refuse its settlement 

balance, and (2) the payment deadline 

(i.e., the time by which it must execute 

settlement via the NSS) 30 established by 

NSCC is approaching. According to 

NSCC, its discretion in this 

circumstance would facilitate timely 

processing of the NSS file for the other 

settling banks.31

In addition, NSCC proposes to codify 

in its Rules certain AIP Settlement 

procedures, which mirror EOD 

Settlement procedures.32 NSCC will 

maintain that (i) DTC will act as 

Settlement Agent for NSCC and the AIP 

Settling Banks, and (ii) the AIP 

acknowledgment 33 or refusal 

submission will occur through a 

designated terminal system.34 NSCC 

will also maintain that AIP Settling 

Bank that cannot send an 

acknowledgment or refusal message 

may contact the Settlement Agent and 

instruct the Settlement Agent to act on 

its behalf. 

4. Technical and Conforming Changes 

NSCC proposes to make certain 

technical and conforming changes to the 

Rules to enhance clarity. First, NSCC 

proposes to revise the Rules to add new 

defined terms, including (i) 

‘‘Acknowledgment Cutoff Time,’’ (ii) 

‘‘AIP Acknowledgment Cutoff Time,’’ 

(iii) ‘‘FRB,’’ (iv) ‘‘FRBNY,’’ (v) 

‘‘Settlement Balances,’’ and (vi) 

‘‘Settlement Members.’’ 35 Second, 

NSCC proposes to revise certain terms 

to reflect the appropriate existing 

defined term, including ‘‘AIP Debit 

Balance,’’ ‘‘AIP Credit Balance,’’ and 

‘‘AIP Refusal.’’ 36 Third, NSCC proposes 

to replace certain references to the 

‘‘Corporation’’ with ‘‘Settlement Agent’’ 

for accuracy and consistency and to 

clarify the role of the Settlement Agent 

under the relevant Rules.37 Fourth, 

NSCC proposes to add ‘‘or the 

Settlement Agent’’ in certain provisions 

to clarify to role of both NSCC and the 

Settlement Agent in establishing 

settlement procedures.38 In addition, 

NSCC proposes to remove outdated 

references to NSCC, the telephone, and 

a phone number to reflect the current 

process in which the settling bank may 

contact the Settlement Agent and to 

move certain current subsections and to 

revise the subsection numbers in the 

relevant Rules to enhance clarity and 

accuracy.39

III. Discussion and Commission 

Findings 

Section 19(b)(2)(C) of the Act 40

directs the Commission to approve a 

proposed rule change of a selfregulatory organization if it finds that 

such proposed rule change is consistent 

with the requirements of the Act and the 

rules and regulations thereunder 

applicable to such organization. After 

careful consideration, the Commission 

finds that the proposed rule change is 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Act and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to NSCC. In 

particular, the Commission finds that 

the proposed rule change is consistent 

with Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act 41

for the reasons described below. 

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

requires, in part, that the rules be 

designed to promote the prompt and 

accurate clearance and settlement of 

securities transactions.42 As stated in 

Section II.A (Background) above, the 

failure of a settling bank to timely 

acknowledge that it will settle its 

settlement balance with NSCC or refuse 

to pay its settlement balance creates 

uncertainty with respect to the timely 

completion of EOD Settlement and AIP 

Settlement at NSCC. Additionally, as 

discussed in Section II.B.3 (Certain 

Settlement Processes) above, 

circumstances in which a settling bank 

has notified the Settlement Agent that it 

cannot yet acknowledge or refuse its 

settlement balance could create 

uncertainty with respect to the timely 

completion of EOD Settlement and AIP 

Settlement at NSCC via NSS because 

NSCC would not be able to submit the 

NSS file that includes the balance of the 

settling bank that has neither passively 

nor affirmatively acknowledged its 

settlement balance. 

The introduction of a passive 

acknowledgement process, in which a 

settling bank has not responded by the 

Acknowledgment Cutoff Time or the 

AIP Acknowledgment Cutoff Time and 

cannot be reached by the Settlement 

Agent would be deemed to have 

passively acknowledged its settlement 

balance, could enhance settlement 

certainty because it would allow NSCC 

to submit the NSS file for settlement of 

all settling banks’ obligations despite an 

unresponsive settling bank. 

Additionally, the change to allow NSCC 

to exclude a settling bank’s balance from 

the NSS file, where the settling bank has 

notified the Settlement Agent that it 

cannot yet acknowledge or refuse its 

settlement balance, would allow NSCC 


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43 Id. 

44 Id. 

45 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 

46 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

47 In approving the proposed rule change, the 

Commission considered the proposals’ impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 

U.S.C. 78c(f). 

48 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Fee Schedule, Section 2)c). 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90176 

(October 14, 2020), 85 FR 66592 (October 20, 2020) 

(SR–FINRA–2020–032) (Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 

to Adjust FINRA Fees to Provide Sustainable 

Funding for FINRA’s Regulatory Mission). 

5 Id. 

6 ‘‘Electronic Exchange Member’’ means the 

holder of a Trading Permit who is a Member 

representing as agent Public Customer Orders or 

Non-Customer Orders on the Exchange and those 

non-Market Maker Members conducting proprietary 

trading. Electronic Exchange Members are deemed 

‘‘members’’ under the Exchange Act. See Exchange 

Rule 100. 

7 ‘‘Market Makers’’ means a Member registered 

with the Exchange for the purpose of making 

markets in options contracts traded on the 

Exchange and that is vested with the rights and 

responsibilities specified in Chapter VI of these 

Rules. See Exchange Rule 100. 

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 80061 

(February 17, 2017), 82 FR 11676 (February 24, 

2017) (SR–PEARL–2017–10). 

9See id. 

10 Id. 

11 Id. 

12 Id. FINRA operates Web CRD, the central 

licensing and registration system for the U.S. 

securities industry. FINRA uses Web CRD to 

Continued 

to submit the NSS file without the 

settling bank’s balance and thus 

complete EOD Settlement or AIP 

Settlement, as applicable, for all other 

settling banks. Therefore, the 

Commission believes the changes are 

designed to promote the prompt and 

accurate clearance and settlement of 

securities transactions, consistent with 

Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act.43

Further, as discussed throughout 

Section II.B (Proposed Rule Change) 

above, the proposal to amend the 

definition of AIP Settling Bank and 

remove AIP Settling Bank Only 

Members as a membership category, 

codify certain existing AIP settlement 

processes, and make certain technical 

and conforming changes should ensure 

that the Rules are clear and accurate to 

NSCC’s members. Having clear and 

accurate Rules should facilitate NSCC 

members’ understanding of those rules 

and provide members with increased 

predictability and certainty regarding 

their obligations. Therefore, the 

Commission believes the proposed 

changes would also promote the prompt 

and accurate clearance and settlement of 

securities, consistent with Section 

17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act.44

IV. Conclusion 

On the basis of the foregoing, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

requirements of the Act and, in 

particular, with the requirements of 

Section 17A of the Act 45 and the rules 

and regulations promulgated 

thereunder. 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 46 that 

proposed rule change SR–NSCC–2021– 

013, be, and hereby is, approved.47

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.48

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00774 Filed 1–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–93951; File No. SR– 

PEARL–2021–60] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX 

PEARL, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the MIAX Pearl 

Options Fee Schedule 

January 11, 2022. 

Pursuant to the provisions of 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 December 29, 2021, MIAX PEARL, 

LLC (‘‘MIAX Pearl’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) a 

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 is filing a proposal to 

amend the MIAX Pearl Options Fee 

Schedule (the ‘‘Fee Schedule’’) to reflect 

adjustments to the Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority (‘‘FINRA’’) 

Registration Fees.3

While the changes proposed herein 

are effective upon filing, the Exchange 

has designated the amendments to 

become operative on January 2, 2022.4

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://www.miaxoptions.com/rulefilings/pearl at MIAX Pearl’s principal 

office, 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 

Section 2)c) of the Fee Schedule, Web 

CRD Fees, to reflect adjustments to the 

FINRA Registration Fees.5 The FINRA 

fees are collected and retained by 

FINRA via Web Central Registration 

Depository (‘‘CRD’’) for the registration 

of associated persons of MIAX Pearl 

Electronic Exchange Member 6 and 

Market Maker 7 organizations that are 

not also FINRA members (‘‘Non-FINRA 

members’’).8 The Exchange merely lists 

these fees in its Fee Schedule. The 

Exchange does not collect or retain 

these fees. 

Since February 13, 2017, FINRA has 

assessed, and the Exchange has listed in 

its Fee Schedule, a $100 fee for the 

FINRA CRD processing fee.9 This fee is 

for all initial, transfer, relicense, and 

dual registration Form U4 filings.10 This 

fee is assessed when a non-FINRA firm 

(i.e., a firm that is not a member of 

FINRA) submits its first initial, transfer, 

relicense, or dual registration Form U4 

filing on behalf of a registered person.11

The Exchange now proposes to 

amend, under the General Registration 

Fees in Section 2)c) of the Fee Schedule, 

the FINRA CRD Processing Fee from 

$100 to $125 for each initial Form U4 

filed for the registration of a 

representative or principal. This 

amendment is made in accordance with 

a recent FINRA rule change to adjust its 

fees.12


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