Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 14, 2009 / Notices 17269 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

5See Securities and Exchange Act Release No. 

46062 (June 11, 2002), 67 FR 41552 (June 18, 2002) 

(notice of immediate effectiveness of SR–CBOE– 

2001–66). 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–59720; File No. SR– 

NYSEAmex–2009–09] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

Amex LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Revise Fees Payable 

by Member Organizations for Which 

the Exchange Is the Designated 

Examining Authority 

April 7, 2009. 

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 April 1, 

2009, NYSE Amex LLC (‘‘NYSE Amex 

Options’’ or the ‘‘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 selfregulatory organization. The proposed 

rule change has been filed by the 

Exchange pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 3 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(2) thereunder,4 which renders the 

proposal effective upon filing with the 

Commission. 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, 

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 

NYSE Amex proposes to revise its 

fees payable by member organizations 

for which the Exchange is the 

Designated Examining Authority 

(‘‘DEA’’). 

Currently, this fee is set at $1,000 per 

month for firms engaged in a public 

business and $275 per quarter for firms 

not engaged in a public business. The 

Exchange also charges a $250 annual fee 

per trader and a $100 annual FOCUS 

filing fee. Under the proposed structure, 

the Exchange will eliminate the current 

fees and replace them with a fee of 

$.00040 per dollar of gross revenue as 

reported on quarterly or annual FOCUS 

Report Form X–17A–5. Commission 

revenue generated from the conduct of 

a retail commodities future business 

will be excluded from DEA fee 

calculation. Going forward, for purposes 

of establishing minimum DEA fees, the 

Exchange will no longer distinguish 

among member organizations on the 

basis of whether they are engaged in 

public business and will instead 

categorize them based on whether or not 

they are clearing firms. The minimum 

fee for non-clearing firms will be a 

monthly fee of $275 ($825 per quarter) 

and the minimum fee for clearing firms 

will be a monthly fee of $1,000 ($3,000 

per quarter). The revisions proposed in 

this filing make the Exchange’s DEA 

fees identical to those charged by the 

Chicago Board Options Exchange 

(‘‘CBOE’’) and more reflective of the 

costs the Exchange incurs in connection 

with its role as DEA.5

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 

members for which the Exchange is the 

DEA will be charged DEA fees at the 

same rate based on gross revenue. 

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–NYSEAmex–2009–09 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–NYSEAmex–2009–09. 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 

17270 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 14, 2009 / Notices 

6 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. 59440 

(February 24, 2009), 74 FR 9325 (‘‘Notice’’). 

4For transactions executed on the Exchange’s 

electronic trading platform, NYSE Arca will report 

the trade directly to OPRA. 

5The proposal also eliminates Rule 6.69 

Commentary .04, which relates to an obsolete and 

outdated practice. ‘‘Hard cards,’’ which refer to the 

cardboard backing of a paper trade ticket, are no 

longer in use on the trading floor. 

6See Rule 6.67(c). 

7The EOC system is the Exchange’s electronic 

audit trail and order tracking system that provides 

an accurate time-sequenced record of all orders and 

transactions on the Exchange. 

8 In approving this proposal, the Commission has 

considered the proposed rule’s impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 

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

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

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–NYSEAmex–2009–09 and 

should be submitted on or before May 

5, 2009. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–8421 Filed 4–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–59716; File No. SR– 

NYSEArca–2009–11] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

Arca, Inc.; Order Approving a 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend Rule 

6.69—Reporting Duties 

April 6, 2009. 

I. Introduction 

On February 13, 2009, NYSE Arca, 

Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’), 

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 a proposed rule 

change to amend Rule 6.69 to revise the 

procedures for reporting open outcry 

trades that occur on the options trading 

floor. The proposed rule change was 

published for comment in the Federal 

Register on March 3, 2009.3 The 

Commission received no comment 

letters on the proposal. This order 

approves the proposed rule change. 

II. Description 

NYSE Arca’s proposal revises the 

procedures for reporting open outcry 

trades that occur on the options trading 

floor. Under existing NYSE Arca rules, 

all option transactions that occur on the 

options trading floor must immediately 

be reported to the Exchange, in a form 

and manner prescribed by the Exchange, 

for dissemination to the Options Price 

Reporting Authority (‘‘OPRA’’).4 This 

requirement applies to all OTP Holders 

who are required to report trades either 

directly to OPRA or to another party 

who is responsible for reporting trades 

to OPRA. Currently, pursuant to existing 

Rule 6.69(b), the responsible party for 

reporting a transaction is the party that 

participates on the transaction as the 

seller. 

The proposed rule change makes 

several clarifying changes to these 

reporting obligations. First, the revised 

rule provides that whenever a Floor 

Broker is participating on one side of a 

transaction, the Floor Broker becomes 

the responsible party for reporting the 

trade, regardless of whether the Floor 

Broker is the buyer or seller. Second, in 

the event that there is a Floor Broker 

participating on both sides of a 

transaction, the Floor Broker 

participating as the seller must report 

the transaction to the Exchange. Third, 

for transactions occurring on the 

Exchange between two Market Makers, 

the Market Maker participating as the 

seller must report the transaction to the 

Exchange. 

Finally, in order to further clarify the 

rules regarding reporting duties, the 

Exchange proposes a new provision 

regarding Complex Orders. Since each 

party to a Complex Order transaction 

(which involves the simultaneous 

purchase and/or sale of two or more 

option series in the same underlying 

security) could be both buying and 

selling different series that make up an 

order, there may be no clearly defined 

seller, as is required by the existing rule. 

Consequently, pursuant to the proposed 

rule change, for Complex Order 

transactions between two Floor Brokers 

or two Market Makers, the party 

responsible for reporting the transaction 

will be the OTP Holder that first 

initiated the transaction. This provision 

does not affect the obligation that a 

Floor Broker has to report transactions 

pursuant to proposed Rule 6.69(b)(i), 

but will have bearing when a Complex 

Order is executed between two Floor 

Brokers or between two Market Makers.5

Presently, almost all orders on the 

Exchange are required to be in 

electronic format prior to representation 

on the trading floor.6 The Exchange 

represents that, typically, Floor Brokers 

enter the terms of orders they receive 

into the Electronic Order Capture 

System (‘‘EOC’’) 7, and upon 

consummating a trade, the Floor Broker 

is able to electronically report the 

transaction to the Exchange for 

processing and dissemination to OPRA. 

In contrast, the Exchange notes that 

Market Makers trading for their own 

proprietary account are not required to 

electronically systematize their orders 

prior to responding to a call from a 

Floor Broker. Consequently, a Market 

Maker acting as a ‘‘seller’’ (who would 

be the responsible reporting party under 

the current rules) would be required to 

re-enter all the order information 

already contained in the Floor Broker’s 

EOC system and then send the 

information to the Exchange for 

processing. The Exchange believes that 

it will be more efficient for the Floor 

Broker to be the responsible party for 

reporting a transaction. The Exchange 

further does not believe that requiring a 

Floor Broker to report every transaction 

to which they are a party will create any 

undue hardship or unnecessary burden 

on the Floor Broker, given the existing 

requirement that orders be put in 

electronic format prior to representation 

on the floor. 

III. Discussion and Commission’s 

Findings 

After careful review, the Commission 

finds that the proposed rule change is 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Act and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to a national 

securities exchange.8 In particular, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with Section 

6(b)(5) of the Act,9 which requires, 

among other things, that that the rules 

of a national securities exchange be 

designed to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to remove