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###### Securities and Exchange Commission

          - [Release No. 34-59452; File No. SR-BX-2009-012] 

                    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 February 19, 2009, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (“BX”) 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 from interested persons.                 

## I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change 

                    BX proposes to modify pricing for BX members using the NASDAQ OMX BX Equities System. BX will implement this rule change on March 2, 2009. The text of the proposed rule change is attached as Exhibit 5 [3]                                          and is available at                     *http://nasdaqomxbx.cchwallstreet.com*.                 

## II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 

                    In its filing with the Commission, BX 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. BX has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A, B,                           ( print page 9457)                        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 

BX is proposing to reduce its fee to access liquidity posted on the BX book from $0.0022 per share executed to $0.0014 per share executed. Since its launch on January 16, 2009, BX has begun to acquire market share in U.S. equities trading. However, in a highly competitive environment in which routing decisions are affected by execution costs and the likelihood of accessing liquidity, BX believes that a fee reduction will increase the likelihood of BX receiving orders ahead of other venues posting the same prices, thereby encouraging further liquidity provision through BX and enhancing its market quality through greater depth of book. 

#### 2. Statutory Basis 

                    BX believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the provisions of Section 6 of the Act,[4]                                          in general, and with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,[5]                                          in particular, in that it provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among members and issuers and other persons using any facility or system which BX operates or controls. The proposed fee change applies uniformly to all BX members. The impact of the changes upon the net fees paid by a particular market participant will depend upon the order types that it uses and the prices of its quotes and orders (                    *i.e.*, its propensity to add or remove liquidity). BX notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed changes will lower the cost of accessing liquidity through BX.                 

### B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition 

BX does not believe that the proposed rule change will result in any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act, as amended. 

### C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither solicited nor received. 

## III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action 

                    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act [6]                                          and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 thereunder.[7]                                          At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule change, the Commission may summarily abrogate such rule change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.                

## IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: 

### Electronic Comments

    - Use the Commission's Internet comment form ( http://www.sec.gov/​rules/​sro.shtml ); or                 
    - Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov.                      Please include File Number SR-BX-2009-012 on the subject line.                 

### Paper Comments

    - Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.

                    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-BX-2009-012. This file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail 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 inspection and copying 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 will also be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the self-regulatory organization. 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-BX-2009-012 and should be submitted on or before March 25, 2009.                 

                        For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.[8] 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

# Footnotes

1.                             15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).                    
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2.                             17 CFR 240.19b-4.                    
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3.                             The Commission notes that while provided in Exhibit 5 to the filing, the text of the proposed rule change is not attached to this notice but is available at the Commission's Public Reference Room and at                         *http://nasdaqomxbx.cchwallstreet.com.*
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4.                             15 U.S.C. 78f.                    
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5.                             15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).                    
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6.                             15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).                    
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7.                             17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).                    
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8.                                 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).                        
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[FR Doc. E9-4556 Filed 3-3-09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P