Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 9857 

5 In approving this rule, the Commission notes 

that it has considered its impact on efficiency, 

competition, and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

8 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

9See SR–NYSEALTR–2009–19. 

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. 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 rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–NYSEALTR–2009–20 on 

the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSEALTR–2009–20. 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 

Section, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, 

DC 20549–1090 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 

NYSE Amex Options’ principal office 

and on its Internet Web site at http:// 

www.nyse.com. 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– 

NYSEALTR–2009–20 and should be 

submitted on or before March 27, 2009. 

IV. Commission’s Findings and Order 

Granting Accelerated Approval of 

Proposed Rule Change 

After careful consideration, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

requirement of the Act and the rules and 

regulations thereunder applicable to a 

national securities exchange 5 and, in 

particular, with the requirements of 

Section 6(b) of the Act.6 In particular, 

the Commission finds that the 

Exchange’s proposal is consistent with 

Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,7 which 

requires that the rules of the Exchange 

provide for the equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues, fees, and other charges 

among its members and other persons 

using its facilities. The Commission 

notes that the proposal conforms 

Linkage Fees to those fees charged on 

other electronic broker-dealer 

executions. 

The Commission finds good cause, 

pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,8

for approving the proposed rule change 

prior to the 30th day after the date of 

publication of the notice of the filing 

thereof in the Federal Register. The 

Commission notes that this proposed 

rule change seeks to lower the Linkage 

Fees from $0.60 to $0.50 to match the 

$0.50 fee charged to Broker Dealers 

executing electronic orders on the 

Exchange. Absent this filing, orders that 

access the Exchange via Linkage will be 

charged more than similar electronic 

transactions executed on the Exchange.9

Further, this proposed fee structure is 

similar to that of NYSE Arca Options. 

V. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 10 that the 

proposed rule change (SR–NYSEALTR– 

2009–20), as amended by Amendment 

No. 1, is hereby approved on an 

accelerated basis to be effective on 

March 2, 2009. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–4777 Filed 3–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–59478; File No. SR– 

NYSEALTR–2009–19] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

Alternext US, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Amending Schedule of 

Fees and Charges for Exchange 

Services 

February 27, 2009. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that, on February 

27, 2009, NYSE Alternext US, LLC 

(‘‘NYSE Amex Options’’, ‘‘NYSE 

Amex’’, or the ‘‘Exchange’’) 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 substantially prepared by the 

self-regulatory organization. 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 its 

Schedule of Fees and Charges for 

Exchange Services. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available on the 

Exchange’s Web site at http:// 

www.nyse.com, at the Exchange’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 

self-regulatory organization 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 those statements may be examined at 

the places specified in Item IV below. 

The Exchange has prepared summaries, 

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9858 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 

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

of the most significant parts of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

In conjunction with the migration of 

the NYSE Amex Options trading floor 

from 86 Trinity Place to the NYSE 

facility at 11 Wall Street, NYSE Amex 

Options is proposing to introduce a new 

Schedule of Fees and Charges for 

Exchange Services (‘‘Fee Schedule’’). 

The new Fee Schedule will become 

operative on the first day of trading on 

the new NYSE Amex Options trading 

floor at 11 Wall Street, currently 

scheduled for March 2, 2009. The 

Exchange proposes deleting the current 

NYSE Amex Options Price List in its 

entirety and replacing it with the Fee 

Schedule. The proposed fees are 

generally lower than the current 

charges, and are allocated equitably to 

all similarly situated members. A more 

detailed description of the proposed 

changes follows. 

ATP Trading Participant Rights 

The Exchange proposes charging 

Floor Brokers, Order Routing firms and 

Clearing firms $500.00 per month for 

trading rights on NYSE Amex Options. 

Prior to the merger with NYSE Euronext 

on October 1, 2008, participation 

charges on the American Stock 

Exchange (‘‘Amex’’) were based on the 

cost of a seat membership or seat lease 

plus additional fees for electronic access 

and/or access to the trading floor. The 

Exchange proposes significant 

reductions to the previous charges for 

participation. Market Makers will be 

charged $1,000.00 per month based on 

the maximum number of ATPs held by 

an ATP Holder during the calendar 

month. The Exchange also proposes 

charging $125.00 per month for all 

registered floor personnel that do not 

pay an ATP fee. Specialists, eSpecialists, and Directed Order Market 

Makers (‘‘DOMM’’) will be charged a 

monthly fee ranging from $150.00 to 

$3000.00 based on the average number 

of national daily customer contracts 

executed and prorated according to 

Specialist, e-Specialist and DOMM 

volumes in that issue. 

Options Issue Transfer Fee 

The Exchange proposes charging 

$100.00 per issue charged to the 

Specialist that transfers an issue to 

another Specialist. 

Options Orientation Fee 

The Exchange proposes a $500.00 

Options Orientation Fee. This fee covers 

the full background investigation, 

disclosure review, and fingerprinting fee 

for each individual applicant, along 

with the administration and 

maintenance costs associated with the 

qualification exams. 

Registration Fees 

The Exchange proposes only 

presentation changes to the Registration 

Fees section of the Fee Schedule. All 

fees in this section are identical to the 

fees currently charged and posted on the 

NYSE Amex Options Price List. 

Registration fees will continue to be 

waived through June 30, 2009 for NYSE 

member organizations that 

automatically became member 

organizations of NYSE Alternext U.S. by 

operation of NYSE Alternext Equities 

Rule 2 at the time of relocation of all 

NYSE Alternext equities trading to the 

to the NYSE trading facilities and 

systems located at 11 Wall Street. 

DEA Fees 

The Exchange proposes the following 

fees for firms for which the Exchange is 

the Designated Examining Authority 

(‘‘DEA’’). A $1,000 monthly fee charged 

to clearing firms engaging in a public 

business. An exemption from this fee 

will be granted to any NYSE Amex 

Options registered Floor Broker or 

Market Maker that effects at least 25% 

of all options transactions, as measured 

in contract volume, on any options 

trading facility of NYSE Alternext US, 

LLC. The Exchange proposes charging 

$275.00 per quarter to firms not 

engaging in a public business, and 

$250.00 annually per trader. An 

exemption from the $250.00 annual fee 

per trader will be granted to any NYSE 

Amex Options registered Floor Broker 

or Market Maker that effects [0]at least 

25% of all options transactions, as 

measured in contract volume, on any 

options trading facility of NYSE 

Alternext US, LLC. The Exchange also 

proposes a new Regulatory Fee of $100 

charged annually for FOCUS filings to 

ATP Firms for which the Exchange is 

the DEA. Previously, the Exchange 

based its DEA fees on a complicated 

calculation that charged $.00040 per 

dollar gross per quarterly or annual 

FOCUS report. The Exchange believes 

this new DEA fee structure significantly 

simplifies the existing fee structure. 

Statutory Disqualification Fees 

The Exchange proposes a $2,000 fee 

for applications resulting in statutory 

disqualification proceedings. 

Trade Related Charges 

Options per contract transaction 

charges will reflect the following rate 

schedule: 

Order type Rate per 

contract 

Specialists, eSpecialists ........... $0.10 

NYSE Amex Options Market 

Maker—Non Directed ........... 0.17 

NYSE Amex Options Market 

Maker—Directed ................... 0.15 

Broker Dealer & Firm Electronic 0.50 

Broker Dealer & Firm Manual .. 0.26 

Non BD Customer Electronic ... 0.00 

Non BD Customer Manual ....... 0.00 

Firm Facilitation—Manual ......... 0.15 

The Firm Facilitation fee applies to 

any transaction involving a firm 

proprietary trading account, that has a 

customer of that same Firm on the 

contra side of the transaction. 

At this time the Exchange will not 

charge a cancellation fee. The Exchange 

intends to charge a cancellation fee in 

the future via a separate rule filing. 

The Exchange proposes a limit of fees 

on options strategy executions. A $750 

cap will be applied on transaction fees 

for strategy executions involving (a) 

reversals and conversions, (b) dividend 

spreads, (c) box spreads, (d) short stock 

interest spreads, and (e) merger spreads. 

The cap applies to each Strategy 

Execution executed on the same trading 

day in the same option class. 

Transaction fees for strategy executions 

are further capped at $25,000.00 per 

month per initiating firm. All Royalty 

Fees associated with strategy executions 

on index and exchange traded funds 

will be passed through to trading 

participants on the strategy executions 

on a pro-rata basis. These Royalty Fees 

will not be included in the calculation 

of the $750 per trade cap or the $25,000 

per month strategy fee cap. 

The Exchange proposes a Marketing 

Charge of $0.65 per contract side on 

transactions in non Penny Pilot issues 

where Market Makers trade against all 

electronic customer orders, and $0.25 

per contract side on transactions in 

Penny Pilot issues where Market Makers 

trade against all electronic customer 

orders. This fee is collected only on 

electronic customer orders that are 

executed against a market maker on the 

contra side. This fee represents a passthrough fee for payment for order flow. 

The Exchange collects the Marketing 

Fee from the ATP Holder and passes it 

through to the Specialist, e-Specialist, or 

Directed Market Maker for distribution 

to order flow providers. 

The Exchange proposes Royalty Fees 

reflected in the following schedule: 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 9859 

4 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

MNX, NDX ....................................... $0.16 

Russell 2000 Index (RUT) ............... 0.15 

ISE FX—Foreign Currency Options 0.10 

(BPX, CDD, EUI, YUK, AUX, SFC).

All other premium products, ETFs 0.00 

Royalty Fees will be assessed on a per 

contract basis for firm, broker/dealer, 

and Market Maker transactions. 

Customer volumes will not be subject to 

any royalty fees, license fees or 

premium product fees of any type. 

These fees will not be assessed on the 

customer side of transactions. Royalty 

Fees apply to Linkage Orders except for 

Satisfaction Orders. 

Floor and Equipment Fees 

The Exchange proposes charging a 

Floor Broker Hand Held fee of $450.00 

per device per month. Hand Held 

devices are used by Floor Brokers in 

open outcry trading for order entry and 

order management. 

The Exchange proposes charging a 

Floor Market Maker Podium Fee of 

$90.00 per Podium per month for each 

Market Maker. A Podium is a table top 

space provided to a Market Maker on 

the floor. 

The Exchange proposes a Floor Booth 

fee of $150.00 per month. Floor Booths 

are designated space used by Floor 

Brokers. Previously, an annual fee of 

$3,500.00 was charged for a Regular 

Floor Booth, $4,500.00 for a Standard 

Floor Booth, $6,000 for a Large Floor 

Booth, and $7,000.00 for a Machine 

Floor Booth. 

The Exchange proposes charging a 

Telephone Service Charge of $0.16 on 

toll calls billed by vendor of less than 

$0.69, and $0.26 on toll calls of greater 

than or equal to $0.69. 

The Exchange proposes a Cellular 

Phone fee of $20.00 per month plus the 

cost of the calling plan of the user’s 

choice. 

The Exchange proposes a Booth 

Telephone System Line Charge of 

$33.33 per phone number per month, 

and a $10.75 charge per month for a 

single line phone jack and data jack. 

Connectivity Charges 

The Exchange proposes Transport 

Charges of $150 per month per floor 

participant connection as required. This 

fee will be capped at $500 per month 

per floor broker firm. The Transport 

Charge is designed to cover the cost to 

the Exchange for installing network 

cabling and rack space for outside data 

lines, along with the costs of 

maintaining the data center and hub for 

the Exchange floor. 

The Exchange proposes a Login Fee of 

$150 per month per Exchange 

sponsored broker dealer entry system. 

The Login Fee is designed to cover the 

cost per login charged by data vendors 

for access to the Floor Broker order 

capture system. 

Report Fees 

The Exchange proposes a User 

Activity Extract Fee of $0.0075 per trade 

for clearing data. This fee is in addition 

to any report development and set-up 

costs. The Exchange also proposes a 

$500 per month Online Data Extract fee 

that allows unlimited access and 

downloads of clearing data. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act, in general, and Section 

6(b)(4), in particular, in that it provides 

for the equitable allocation of dues, fees 

and other charges among its members 

and other market participants that use 

the trading facilities of NYSE Amex 

Options. Under this proposal, all 

similarly situated members and other 

Exchange participants of NYSE Amex 

Options will be charged the same 

reasonable dues, fees and other charges. 

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. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The proposed rule change is effective 

upon filing pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act and SEC Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) thereunder in that it 

establishes or changes a due, fee, or 

other charge imposed only on members 

by the self-regulatory organization. 

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 rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–NYSEALTR–2009–19 on 

the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSEALTR–2009–19. 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 on official business days between 

the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 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– 

NYSEALTR–2009–19 and should be 

submitted on or before March 27, 2009. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.4

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–4785 Filed 3–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES