31916 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 25, 2022 / Notices 

6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(31). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Notice of Filing infra note 4, 87 FR 20485. 

4Securities Exchange Act Release No. 94587 

(Apr. 1, 2022), 87 FR 20485 (Apr. 7, 2022) (File No. 

SR–OCC–2022–004) (‘‘Notice of Filing’’). 

5 In Partial Amendment No. 1, OCC proposed 

conforming changes to its Liquidity Risk 

Management Framework, and appended new 

Exhibits 4 and 5D to File No. SR–OCC–2022–004 

to reflect the proposed changes to the Liquidity Risk 

Management Framework. 

6The Commission received two comment letters 

that addressed market conduct generally; however, 

additional discussion is unnecessary because the 

comment letters do not bear on the purpose or legal 

basis of the proposed rule change, as modified by 

Partial Amendment No. 1. The comments on the 

proposed rule change are available at https://

www.sec.gov/comments/sr-occ-2022-004/ 

srocc2022004.htm. 

7References to the proposed rule change from 

this point forward refer to the proposed rule change 

as modified by Partial Amendment No. 1. 

8Capitalized terms used but not defined herein 

have the meanings specified in OCC’s Rules and ByLaws, available at https://www.theocc.com/about/ 

publications/bylaws.jsp. 

9OCC is also proposing to make conforming 

changes to its Clearing Fund Methodology Policy 

and Liquidity Risk Management Framework to 

reflect the proposed changes to its By-Laws and 

Rules. 

10See Notice of Filing, supra note 4, at 20485. 

11 Id. 

12Current OCC Rule 706(b) allows OCC to specify 

the time for settling obligations related to crossmargin accounts with Participating CCOs. As of 

March 22, 2022, OCC maintained cross-margin 

accounts with only one Participating CCO, the 

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (‘‘CME’’). See Notice 

of Filing, 87 FR 20485, n. 4. OCC’s Operations 

Manual specifies that the settlement time for OCC/ 

CME cross-margin debits is 7:30 a.m. CT. See id. 

OCC did not propose changing the start-of-day 

settlement time for OCC/CME cross-margin debits, 

which is currently 8:00 a.m. CT under Article VI, 

Section 25 of OCC’s By-Laws. 

proceedings to determine whether to 

disapprove, the proposed rule change 

(File No. SR- NASDAQ–2022–027). 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11206 Filed 5–24–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–94950; File No. SR–OCC– 

2022–004] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Options Clearing Corporation; Notice 

of Filing of Partial Amendment No. 1 

and Order Granting Accelerated 

Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, 

as Modified by Partial Amendment No. 

1, by The Options Clearing Corporation 

Concerning Settlement Timing 

May 19, 2022. 

I. Introduction 

On March 22, 2022, the Options 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change SR–OCC–2022– 

004 pursuant to Section 19(b) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 3 2

thereunder. The proposed rule change 

would amend various provisions of 

OCC’s rules to revise the required 

settlement time from 9:00 a.m. Central 

Time (‘‘CT’’) to 8:00 a.m. CT.3 The 

proposed rule change was published for 

public comment in the Federal Register 

on April 7, 2022.4 On May 5, 2022, OCC 

filed Partial Amendment No. 1 to the 

proposed rule change.5 The Commission 

has received two comments regarding 

the proposed rule change.6 The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on Partial Amendment 

No. 1 from interested persons, and is 

approving the proposed rule change, as 

modified by Partial Amendment No. 1, 

on an accelerated basis.7

II. Background 8

OCC collects margin deposits and 

Clearing Fund deposits from Clearing 

Members in order to collateralize 

Clearing Members’ obligations, and thus 

supports OCC’s abilities to act as a 

guarantor in the event a Clearing 

Member is unable to fulfill its 

obligations with OCC. OCC’s Rules 

currently describe various times, many 

of which are set to 9:00 a.m. CT, for 

Clearing Members to make various daily 

payments for satisfying their margin and 

Clearing Fund obligations, following a 

specified amount of notice that OCC 

provides to Clearing Members. Such 

daily payments are required for Clearing 

Members to cover margin and Clearing 

Fund deficits, as well as increases in the 

Clearing Fund cash requirement 

(‘‘Settlement Funds’’). 

As described in more detail below, 

OCC is proposing to revise its By-Laws 

and Rules 9 to make the following three 

changes to its settlement processes: 

(1) Aligning daily payment processes 

under a uniform start-of-day settlement time 

to reduce operational complexity; 

(2) reducing the period of time a Clearing 

Member has to fund obligations arising out 

of OCC’s routine processes for setting the size 

of its Clearing Fund to simplify OCC’s 

financial resources monitoring processes; and 

(3) increasing the period of time a Clearing 

Member has to fund obligations arising out 

of a change to OCC’s rules that affects the 

member’s Clearing Fund requirement, to 

provide members with more time to consider 

terminating membership in response to such 

a rule change. 

A. Setting a Uniform Start-of-Day 

Settlement Time 

OCC proposes to harmonize various 

daily payment processes by setting a 

uniform start-of-day settlement time 

(‘‘Settlement Time’’), as OCC believes 

that a uniform start-of-day settlement 

time would reduce operational 

complexities.10 In addition to setting a 

single Settlement Time, OCC proposes 

to consolidate various settlement 

obligations that are due at the same time 

into a single obligation to further 

streamline OCC’s processes. 

Further, OCC intends to set the 

Settlement Time one hour earlier than 

the current start-of-day settlement time 

that applies to many of OCC’s daily 

payment processes, as OCC believes that 

the earlier hour would provide OCC 

with additional time to address a default 

event and implement protective 

actions.11 The proposed changes would 

change the Settlement Time for various 

daily payment processes (described 

below) from 9 a.m. Central Time (‘‘CT’’) 

to 8:00 a.m. CT. The proposed rule 

change would also grant OCC discretion 

to extend funding deadlines when 

warranted by the circumstances, such as 

operational or system difficulties that 

may arise. 

(1) ‘‘Settlement Time’’ Definitions 

Currently, two different definitions in 

OCC’s By-Laws (Article I, Definitions; 

Article XV, Foreign Currency Options, 

Definitions) define the term ‘‘settlement 

time’’ as 9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. 

Eastern Time (‘‘ET’’)). OCC proposes to 

move the Article I definition to Chapter 

I, Rule 101 of OCC’s Rules because the 

defined term does not appear elsewhere 

in the By-Laws, but appears routinely in 

OCC’s Rules. OCC proposes to update 

both definitions to make the Settlement 

Time 8:00 a.m. CT (9:00 a.m. ET). OCC 

further proposes to clarify in the 

relocated Rule 101 definition that the 

Settlement Time does not include 

settlements related to any cross-margin 

program with a Participating Carrying 

Clearing Organization (‘‘CCO’’).12

(2) Daily Margin Report 

OCC’s margin-related rules define a 

specific time by which margin payments 

must be specified. OCC proposes to 

replace the time specified in the marginrelated rules with a reference to the 

defined term ‘‘Settlement Time,’’ rather 

than specify settlement times at 

multiple locations within OCC’s rules. 

Rule 605 currently requires Clearing 

Members to satisfy margin deficits by 

9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET). OCC 


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13 General deficits include deficits resulting from 

a decrease in the value of a Clearing Member’s 

contribution or by an adjusted contribution 

pursuant to Rule 1004. OCC Rule 1004 describes 

how the required Clearing Fund contribution of a 

Clearing Member may be adjusted by the 

Corporation due to mergers, consolidations, 

position transfers, business expansions, 

membership approval, or other similar events in 

connection with the calculations made in respect of 

a particular calendar month or at any other time. 

14See Notice of Filing, supra note 4, at 20486. 

15 Id. 

16 Id. 

17 Id. 

18See Notice of Filing, supra note 4, at 20487. 

19 Id. 

proposes to update Rule 605 to 

reference the defined term ‘‘Settlement 

Time,’’ so that Clearing Members must 

now satisfy margin deficits by 8:00 a.m. 

CT (9:00 a.m. ET). Additionally, OCC 

Rule 605 currently states that prior to 

9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET), OCC shall 

make available to each Clearing Member 

a Daily Margin Report for each account 

maintained by the Clearing Member. 

OCC proposes to update the Rule to 

require that the Daily Margin Report be 

made available prior to 8:00 a.m. CT 

(9:00 a.m. ET). 

Interpretation and Policy .01 to Rule 

605 currently provides that the Daily 

Margin Report will not include the 

amount of margin required for variance 

futures, and requires OCC to advise 

Clearing Members of margin 

requirements for variance futures by 

9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET). OCC 

proposes to delete Interpretation and 

Policy .01 to Rule 605 on the basis that 

margin requirements for variance 

futures, as for other products, will be 

included in the Daily Margin Report. 

(3) General Clearing Fund Deficits 

OCC proposes to set the time for 

settlement of Clearing Fund-related 

obligations related to general deficits 13

by referring to the defined term 

‘‘Settlement Time,’’ and to consolidate 

Clearing Member payment obligations 

due at the Settlement Time into a single 

obligation. OCC Rule 1005(a) currently 

requires that Clearing Members must 

satisfy general Clearing Fund deficits 

within one hour of being notified of the 

deficit. As a practical matter, OCC 

generally collects these deficits during 

the morning of each business day, but 

outside of the start-of-day settlement 

cycle, resulting in two separate 

collections, at similar times, from 

Clearing Members. 

OCC proposes to revise its Rules to 

align the general Clearing Fund deficit 

collection time with the proposed 

Settlement Time. The proposed rule 

change would revise Rule 1005(a) to 

state that OCC would collect a general 

deficit arising under Rule 1005(a) at the 

Settlement Time, provided that OCC 

notifies the Clearing Member of such 

deficit at least one hour prior to the 

Settlement Time on the day the notice 

was provided. OCC typically provides 

notice to Clearing Members of general 

deficits under Rule 1005(a) through 

OCC’s overnight reporting process, but 

may also issue notices in response to 

market conditions or adjustments 

arising from mergers, consolidations, 

position transfers, business expansions, 

membership approval, or other similar 

events. OCC believes that it would 

achieve operational efficiency by 

revising Rule 1005(a) to align the 

general Clearing Fund deficit collection 

time to the Settlement Time.14 OCC 

intends to continue to provide Clearing 

Members with one hour to satisfy a 

deficit if OCC does not provide notice 

at least one hour before the Settlement 

Time on a particular day.15

Additionally, OCC proposes to change 

Rule 1005(a) to provide OCC with 

discretion to extend funding deadlines 

when warranted by the circumstances 

(e.g., operational or system difficulties). 

(4) Clearing Fund Replenishments and 

Assessments 

OCC also proposes to set the time for 

settlement of Clearing Fund-related 

obligations related to replenishments 

and assessments by referring to the 

defined term ‘‘Settlement Time.’’ Rule 

1006(h) currently requires that Clearing 

Members cover any charges to the 

Clearing Fund, whether in the form of 

replenishments or assessments, by 9:00 

a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET) on the following 

business day. OCC proposes to amend 

Rule 1006(h) to align the 

replenishments and assessments 

collection time with the proposed 

Settlement Time. OCC believes that 

using the revised ‘‘Settlement Time’’ 

definition, rather than stating a specific 

time in Rule 1006(h), would help to 

achieve consistency and reduce 

operational complexity.16 OCC also 

believes that a move to the earlier time 

of 8:00 a.m. CT would provide OCC 

with more time to address a default 

event and implement necessary 

protective actions, including securing 

funds from its liquidity providers.17

OCC also proposes to make 

corresponding changes to Rule 

1006(h)(B), which reiterates that each 

Clearing Member shall have, and shall 

at all times maintain, the ability to make 

good any deficiency described in Rule 

1006(h) during a cooling-off period. 

OCC also proposes to amend Rule 

1006(h)(A) and Rule 1006(h)(B) to allow 

OCC to specify a later time for which 

Clearing Members must make good on 

any charges to the Clearing Fund. 

(5) Clearing Fund Deficits Due to Rule 

Amendments 

Additionally, OCC proposes to set the 

time for settlement of Clearing Fundrelated obligations related to changes to 

OCC’s rules by referring to the defined 

term ‘‘Settlement Time.’’ Under current 

Rule 1002(e), if a Clearing Member’s 

Clearing Fund contribution increases 

due to an amendment of OCC’s Rules, 

the increase shall not become effective 

until the Clearing Member is given at 

least two business days prior written 

notice of the amendment. Clearing 

Members that do not notify OCC that 

they intend to terminate their clearing 

membership must satisfy the increased 

contribution by 9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. 

ET) on the second business day 

following notification of the 

amendment. 

OCC proposes to revise Rule 1002(e) 

to align with the proposed Settlement 

Time, so that Clearing Members must 

satisfy the increased contribution by the 

earlier time of 8:00 a.m. CT (9:00 a.m. 

ET). As with the other proposed 

Settlement Time alignments, this 

change is intended to reduce 

operational complexity by creating a 

more uniform settlement time for 

Clearing Fund deficits, including those 

described in Rule 1002(e).18

(6) Temporary Increase in Clearing Fund 

Cash Requirement 

Finally, OCC proposes to set the time 

for settlement of Clearing Fund-related 

obligations related to increases in the 

Clearing Fund Cash Requirement by 

reference to the defined term 

‘‘Settlement Time.’’ Under current 

Interpretation and Policy .03 to Rule 

1002, Clearing Members must satisfy 

any Clearing Fund Cash Requirementrelated increase in their required cash 

contributions no later than the second 

business day following notification of 

the increase. OCC proposes to revise 

Rule 1002 Interpretation and Policy .03 

to require that Clearing Members satisfy 

a required cash contribution increase by 

the first Settlement Time following 

notification of the increase. OCC 

believes that this proposed change 

would reduce operational complexity by 

creating a more uniform settlement time 

that aligns with the current collection 

period for other obligations to OCC.19


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20See Notice of Filing, supra note 4, at 20486. 

21 Id. 

22 Id. 23See Notice of Filing, supra note 4, at 20487. 

24According to OCC, the purpose of this update 

to Rule 1002(e) would be to better reflect OCC’s 

current practice, where Clearing Members are 

generally afforded more than five business days’ 

notice of any change in Clearing Fund requirements 

that result from an amendment of OCC’s Rules. Id. 

As this change codifies an existing practice, OCC 

does not believe it will modify Clearing Member 

behavior or otherwise have an adverse impact on 

OCC. Id. 

25 Id. 

26 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(C). 

B. Shortening Collection Period 

Following Clearing Fund Resizing 

In addition to harmonizing the time 

by which settlement occurs on a given 

day, OCC proposes to shorten the 

number of days a Clearing Member has 

to meet certain routine funding 

obligations related to the Clearing Fund. 

Currently, OCC allows members two 

business days to meet routine funding 

obligations. As described below, OCC is 

proposing changes designed to require 

funding by the next Settlement Time, 

effectively requiring funding by the 

business day following notice of an 

obligation. OCC stated that shortening 

the collection period would reduce 

operational complexity related to the 

monitoring of OCC’s prefunded credit 

and liquidity resources by providing 

transparency and certainty to OCC 

around OCC’s available liquidity 

resources during the resizing process.20

(1) Deficits From Monthly and IntraMonth Clearing Fund Resizing 

OCC Rule 1005(b) currently requires 

that for any deficits resulting from a 

monthly or intra-month Clearing Fund 

resizing, Clearing Members must satisfy 

them by 9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET) on 

the second business day following 

notification of the resizing. According to 

OCC, the two-day collection period was 

intended to provide Clearing Members 

with sufficient notice of any changes to 

their Clearing Fund contribution 

requirements. However, OCC notes that 

this two-day collection period 

complicates the monitoring of OCC’s 

prefunded credit and liquidity 

resources.21

The proposed rule change would 

amend Rule 1005(b) to require that 

deficits resulting from the standard 

monthly Clearing Fund resizing must be 

satisfied by the Settlement Time on the 

first business day of each month. OCC 

believes that the proposed change 

would reduce the time to collect 

Clearing Fund deficits required to meet 

the new Clearing Fund size, and would 

reduce operational complexity of the 

monitoring of OCC’s prefunded credit 

and liquidity resources by providing 

certainty to OCC on the available 

liquidity resources during the resizing 

process.22 The proposed rule change 

would also shorten the collection period 

for intra-month resizing to the next 

Settlement Time following notification 

of the re-sizing, which would align it 

with the monthly resizing period and 

other Clearing Fund deficit collection 

times. OCC also proposes to modify 

Rule 1005(b) so that OCC has the 

discretion to extend funding deadlines 

when warranted by the circumstances 

(e.g., operational or system difficulties). 

(2) Adjustment to Clearing Fund 

Contributions 

Rule 1004 provides that any 

deficiency arising from an adjustment 

due to a Clearing Member merger, 

consolidation, position transfer, 

business expansion, membership 

approval or other similar event shall be 

satisfied in accordance with Rule 

1005(a). Rule 1004 currently provides 

an exception that allows a Clearing 

Member to satisfy an obligation, 

typically due on the first business day 

of a calendar month, on the second 

business day if the deficit coincides 

with a regular monthly sizing collection. 

The proposed rule change would 

remove this exception because under 

the proposed revision of Rule 1005, 

regular monthly sizing deficits would 

no longer be collected two business 

days after notification. 

C. Increasing Notification Period For 

Clearing Fund Deficits Due to Rule 

Amendments 

In contrast to the reduction of time for 

funding routine obligations, OCC 

proposes increasing the number of days 

a Clearing Member has to meet Clearing 

Fund obligations related to changes in 

OCC’s rules. Currently, OCC allows 

members two business days to meet 

funding obligations arising out of rule 

changes. As described below, OCC is 

proposing to give Clearing Members five 

business days notice of such obligations 

to allow Clearing Members additional 

time to determine whether to terminate 

clearing membership as a result of any 

such rule change.23

As previously noted, under current 

Rule 1002(e), if a Clearing Member’s 

Clearing Fund contribution increases 

due to an amendment of OCC’s Rules, 

the increase shall not become effective 

until the Clearing Member is given at 

least two business days prior written 

notice of the amendment. This 

notification period provides Clearing 

Members with the time to notify OCC in 

writing that it wishes to terminate its 

clearing membership if desired, and 

close out or transfer its open positions 

before the effective date of the 

amendment. Clearing Members that do 

not notify OCC of such termination 

must satisfy the increased contribution 

by 9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET) on the 

second business day following 

notification of the amendment. 

The proposed rule change would 

increase the notification period from 

two business days to five business days, 

to provide Clearing Members with 

additional time to determine whether or 

not to terminate their clearing 

memberships and close out or transfer 

all open positions before the effective 

date of the amendment.24

D. Conforming Changes to Policies 

The proposed rule change would also 

make conforming changes to the 

Clearing Fund Methodology Policy and 

Liquidity Risk Management Framework. 

These changes would amend the 

Clearing Fund Methodology Policy to 

reflect the revised timing for satisfying 

Clearing Fund Cash Requirementrelated increases, and eliminating the 

policy language describing the 

exception set forth in Rule 1004 as 

described above. These changes are 

intended to conform the Clearing Fund 

Methodology Policy with the proposed 

changes to OCC’s Rules and support the 

reduced operational complexity that 

OCC expects to achieve by creating a 

more uniform settlement time.25 The 

proposed changes to the Liquidity Risk 

Management Framework would note 

that Clearing Members will have until 

no later than the first start-of-day 

settlement time following the day on 

which notice is provided by OCC, or an 

alternative time established by an OCC 

officer to meet their minimum Clearing 

Fund cash contribution. 

III. Discussion and Commission 

Findings 

Section 19(b)(2)(C) of the Exchange 

Act 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 Exchange 

Act and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to such 

organization.26 After carefully 

considering the proposed rule change, 

the Commission finds that the proposal 

is consistent with the requirements of 

the Exchange Act and the rules and 

regulations thereunder applicable to 

OCC. More specifically, the Commission 

finds that the proposal, is consistent 

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


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27 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

28 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(8). 

29 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

30 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

31 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(8). 32 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(8). 

Exchange Act 27 and Rule 17Ad–22(e)(8) 

under the Exchange Act 28 as described 

in detail below. 

A. Consistency With Section 

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

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

Act requires, among other things, that a 

clearing agency’s rules are designed to 

promote the prompt and accurate 

clearance and settlement of securities 

transactions and, to the extent 

applicable, derivative agreements, 

contracts, and transactions; and the 

rules are designed, in general, to protect 

investors and the public interest.29

Based on its review of the record, and 

for the reasons described below, the 

Commission believes that the proposed 

changes are consistent with facilitating 

the prompt and accurate clearance and 

settlement of securities transactions and 

derivative agreements, contracts, and 

transactions for which OCC is 

responsible, and protecting investors 

and the public interest. 

The Commission believes that OCC, 

in amending its By-Laws and Rules to 

set a uniform time for satisfying start-ofday settlement at 8:00 a.m. CT (9:00 a.m. 

ET) and applying the updated 

Settlement Time to the Daily Margin 

Report (Rule 605), general Clearing fund 

deficits (Rule 1005(a)), Clearing Fund 

replenishments and assessments (Rule 

1006(h)), Rule amendment-related 

Clearing Fund deficits (Rule 1002(e)), 

and temporary increases in the Clearing 

Fund Cash Requirement (Rule 1002.03) 

will remove any potential confusion or 

ambiguity for Clearing Members that 

could result from having different startof-day settlement times depending on 

the nature of the Settlement Fund 

collection type. The alignment to a 

single Settlement Time would therefore 

facilitate the prompt and accurate 

clearance and settlement of transactions 

for which OCC is responsible. 

Further, the Commission believes that 

OCC, in amending Rule 1005(b) to 

shorten the collection period for deficits 

due to Clearing Fund monthly and intramonth resizings, will ensure that such 

Clearing Fund deficits are covered 

earlier than before. This would in turn 

reduce any existing liquidity risk and 

provide greater certainty regarding 

OCC’s liquidity resources, thereby 

supporting OCC’s ability to meet its 

obligations. Strengthening OCC’s ability 

to meet its payment obligations would, 

in turn, promote its ability to ensure 

prompt settlement of securities 

transactions for which OCC is 

responsible. 

OCC also proposed changes to Rule 

1002(e) to increase the notification 

period for Clearing Member deficits due 

to Rule amendments from two business 

days to five business days. The 

Commission believes that this proposed 

change would benefit Clearing Members 

by giving them additional time to 

consider canceling their clearing 

membership with OCC in the event of 

a Clearing Fund contribution increase 

created by amendments to OCC’s Rules. 

Clearing Members could use the 

additional time to consider their ability 

to cover such increases with greater 

deliberation, which could allow 

members to unwind positions in an 

orderly fashion rather than defaulting 

on obligations to OCC. The promotion of 

an orderly unwinding of positions, as 

opposed to a potentially more 

disruptive Clearing Member default 

scenario, would in turn promote the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest. 

OCC also proposed conforming 

changes to its Clearing Fund 

Methodology Policy and its Liquidity 

Resource Management Framework to 

ensure consistency of the policy and 

framework with the changes described 

above. The Commission believes, 

therefore, that the conforming changes 

are consistent with the requirements of 

Section 17A(b)(3)(F) for the reasons 

described above. 

The Commission believes, therefore, 

that the proposal is consistent with the 

requirements of Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of 

the Exchange Act.30

B. Consistency With Rule 17Ad–22(e)(8) 

Under the Exchange Act 

Rule 17Ad–22(e)(8) under the 

Exchange Act requires that a covered 

clearing agency establish, implement, 

maintain, and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

define the point at which settlement is 

final no later than the end of the day on 

which the payment or obligation is due 

and, where necessary or appropriate, 

intraday or in real time.31 Based on its 

review of the record, the Commission 

believes that the proposed rule change 

is consistent with this requirement. 

OCC’s proposal to modify its rules to 

change the definitions of ‘‘settlement 

time’’ from 9:00 a.m. CT to 8:00 a.m. CT 

would move the start-of-day settlement 

time up by one hour, but would provide 

no less clear a time by which settlement 

is due than OCC’s current rules. As 

proposed, settlement finality for cleared 

transactions would continue to occur 

when a settlement bank either accepts 

or confirms the settlement instruction. 

Similarly, OCC’s proposed changes to 

reduce or increase the number of days 

a Clearing Member has to meet certain 

Clearing Fund obligations would 

provide no less certainty regarding the 

time by which settlement must occur 

than is provided by OCC’s current rules. 

The Commission believes, therefore, 

that the proposal is consistent with the 

requirements of Rule 17Ad–22(e)(8) 

under the Exchange Act.32

IV. Solicitation of Comments on Partial 

Amendment No. 1 to the Proposed Rule 

Change 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change, as modified by Partial 

Amendment No. 1, is consistent with 

the Exchange 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– 

OCC–2022–004 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–OCC–2022–004. 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 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
31920 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 25, 2022 / Notices 

33 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

34 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

35 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

36 In approving this proposed rule change, the 

Commission has considered the proposed rules’ 

impact on efficiency, competition, and capital 

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

37 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

38 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1See Letter from Robert Books, Chair, CTA/CQ 

Operating Committee, to Vanessa Countryman, 

Secretary, Commission (Nov. 5, 2021). 

2The Participants are: Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc., 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGA Exchange, 

Inc., Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc., Cboe Exchange, 

Inc., Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., 

The Investors’ Exchange LLC, Long-Term Stock 

Exchange, Inc., MEMX LLC, MIAX PEARL, LLC, 

Nasdaq BX, Inc., Nasdaq ISE, LLC, Nasdaq PHLX, 

Inc., The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, New York 

Stock Exchange LLC, NYSE American LLC, NYSE 

Arca, Inc., NYSE Chicago, Inc., and NYSE National, 

Inc. (collectively, the ‘‘Participants’’). 

3The CTA Plan, pursuant to which markets 

collect and disseminate last-sale price information 

for non-Nasdaq-listed securities, is a ‘‘transaction 

reporting plan’’ under Rule 601 of Regulation NMS, 

17 CFR 242.601, and a ‘‘national market system 

plan’’ under Rule 608 of Regulation NMS, 17 CFR 

242.608. The CQ Plan, pursuant to which markets 

collect and disseminate bid/ask quotation 

information for non-Nasdaq-listed securities, is a 

‘‘national market system plan’’ under Rule 608 

under the Act, 17 CFR 242.608. See Securities 

Exchange Act Release Nos. 10787 (May 10, 1974), 

39 FR at 17799 (May 20, 1974) (declaring the CTA 

Plan effective); 15009 (July 28, 1978), 43 FR at 

34851 (Aug. 7, 1978) (temporarily authorizing the 

CQ Plan); and 16518 (Jan. 22, 1980), 45 FR at 6521 

(Jan. 28, 1980) (permanently authorizing the CQ 

Plan). 

4 15 U.S.C 78k–1. 

5 17 CFR 242.608. 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93615 

(Nov. 29, 2021), 86 FR 67800 (Nov. 29, 2021) 

(‘‘Notice’’). Comments received in response to the 

Notice can be found on the Commission’s website 

at https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-ctacq-2021-02/ 

srctacq202102.htm. 

7 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2)(i). 

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 94310 

(Feb. 24, 2022), 87 FR 11748 (Mar. 2, 2022) (‘‘OIP’’). 

Comments received in response to the OIP can be 

found on the Commission’s website at https://

www.sec.gov/comments/sr-ctacq-2021-02/ 

srctacq202102.htm. 

9 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2)(i). 

10 Id. 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(85). 

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

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. 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–OCC–2022–004 and should 

be submitted on or before June 15, 2022. 

V. Accelerated Approval of Proposed 

Rule Change, as Modified by Partial 

Amendment No. 1 

The Commission finds good cause, 

pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the 

Exchange Act,33 to approve the 

proposed rule change prior to the 30th 

day after the date of publication of 

notice of the filing of Partial 

Amendment No. 1 in the Federal 

Register. As discussed above, Partial 

Amendment No. 1 modified the original 

proposed rule change by making 

conforming changes to OCC’s Liquidity 

Risk Management Framework consistent 

with the initial filing. Partial 

Amendment No. 1 does not change the 

purpose of or basis for the proposed 

changes. 

For similar reasons as discussed 

above, the Commission finds that Partial 

Amendment No. 1 is consistent with the 

requirement that OCC’s rules be 

designed to promote the prompt and 

accurate clearance and settlement of 

securities transactions under Section 

17A(b)(3)(F) of the Exchange Act.34

Accordingly, the Commission finds 

good cause, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) 

of the Exchange Act, to approve the 

proposed rule change, as modified by 

Partial Amendment No. 1, on an 

accelerated basis, pursuant to Section 

19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act.35

VI. Conclusion 

On the basis of the foregoing, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change, as modified by Partial 

Amendment No. 1, is consistent with 

the requirements of the Exchange Act, 

and in particular, the requirements of 

Section 17A of the Exchange Act 36 and 

the rules and regulations thereunder. 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act,37

that the proposed rule change (SR– 

OCC–2022–004), as modified by Partial 

Amendment No. 1, be, and hereby is, 

approved on an accelerated basis. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.38

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11205 Filed 5–24–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–94951; File No. SR–CTA/ 

CQ–2021–02] 

Consolidated Tape Association; Notice 

of Designation of a Longer Period for 

Commission Action on the ThirtySeventh Substantive Amendment to 

the Second Restatement of the CTA 

Plan and Twenty-Eighth Substantive 

Amendment to the Restated CQ Plan 

May 19, 2022. 

On November 5, 2021,1 the 

Participants 2 in the Second Restatement 

of the Consolidated Tape Association 

(‘‘CTA’’) Plan and Restated 

Consolidated Quotation (‘‘CQ’’) Plan 

(collectively ‘‘CTA/CQ Plans’’ or 

‘‘Plans’’) 3 filed with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’), 

pursuant to Section 11A of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 4 and Rule 608 of Regulation 

National Market System (‘‘NMS’’) 

thereunder,5 a proposal (‘‘Proposed 

Amendments’’) to amend the Plans. The 

Proposed Amendments were published 

for comment in the Federal Register on 

November 29, 2021.6

On February 24, 2022, the 

Commission instituted proceedings 

pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of 

Regulation NMS 7 to determine whether 

to approve or disapprove the Proposed 

Amendments or to approve the 

Proposed Amendments with any 

changes or subject to any conditions the 

Commission deems necessary or 

appropriate after considering public 

comment.8 Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of 

Regulation NMS provides that such 

proceedings shall be concluded within 

180 days of the date of publication of 

notice of the plan or amendment and 

that the time for conclusion of such 

proceedings may be extended for up to 

60 days (up to 240 days from the date 

of notice publication) if the Commission 

determines that a longer period is 

appropriate and publishes the reasons 

for such determination or the plan 

participants consent to a longer period.9

The 180th day after publication of the 

Notice for the Proposed Amendments is 

May 28, 2022. The Commission is 

extending this 180-day period. 

The Commission finds that it is 

appropriate to designate a longer period 

within which to conclude proceedings 

regarding the Proposed Amendments so 

that it has sufficient time to consider the 

Proposed Amendments and the 

comments received. Accordingly, 

pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2)(i) of 

Regulation NMS,10 the Commission 

designates July 27, 2022 as the date by 

which the Commission shall conclude 

the proceedings to determine whether to 

approve or disapprove the Proposed 

Amendments or to approve the 

Proposed Amendments with any 

changes or subject to any conditions the 

Commission deems necessary or 

appropriate (File No. SR–CTA/CQ– 

2021–02). 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1