4682 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 27, 2016 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 68303 

(November 27, 2012), 77 FR 71652 (December 3, 

2012) (‘‘RPI Approval Order’’) (SR–BYX–2012–019). 

4A ‘‘User’’ is defined in BYX Rule 1.5(cc) as any 

member or sponsored participant of the Exchange 

who is authorized to obtain access to the System. 

5A ‘‘Retail Order’’ is defined in Rule 11.24(a)(2) 

as an agency order that originates from a natural 

person and is submitted to the Exchange by a RMO, 

provided that no change is made to the terms of the 

order with respect to price or side of market and 

the order does not originate from a trading 

algorithm or any computerized methodology. See 

Rule 11.24(a)(2). 

6The term Protected Quotation is defined in BYX 

Rule 1.5(t) and has the same meaning as is set forth 

in Regulation NMS Rule 600(b)(58). The terms 

Protected NBB and Protected NBO are defined in 

BYX Rule 1.5(s). The Protected NBB is the bestpriced protected bid and the Protected NBO is the 

best-priced protected offer. Generally, the Protected 

NBB and Protected NBO and the national best bid 

(‘‘NBB’’) and national best offer (‘‘NBO’’, together 

with the NBB, the ‘‘NBBO’’) will be the same. 

However, a market center is not required to route 

to the NBB or NBO if that market center is subject 

to an exception under Regulation NMS Rule 

611(b)(1) or if such NBB or NBO is otherwise not 

available for an automatic execution. In such case, 

the Protected NBB or Protected NBO would be the 

best-priced protected bid or offer to which a market 

center must route interest pursuant to Regulation 

NMS Rule 611. 

7See RPI Approval Order, supra note 3 at 71652. 

8 Id. 

9See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 71249 

(January 7, 2014), 79 FR 2229 (January 13, 2014) 

(SR–BYX–2014–001) (Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 

to Extend the Pilot Period for the Retail Price 

Improvement Program); 74111 (January 22, 2015), 

80 FR 4598 (January 28, 2015) (SR–BYX–2015–05) 

(Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change to Extend the Pilot Period for 

BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.’s Retail Price Improvement 

(‘‘RPI’’) Program for 12 Months, To Expire on 

January 31, 2016). 

10A ‘‘Retail Price Improvement Order’’ is defined 

in Rule 11.24(a)(3) as an order that consists of nondisplayed interest on the Exchange that is priced 

better than the Protected NBB or Protected NBO by 

at least $0.001 and that is identified as such. See 

Rule 11.24(a)(3). 

7. The estimated number of annual 

responses: 213. 

8. The estimated number of annual 

respondents: 36. 

9. An estimate of the total number of 

hours needed annually to comply with 

the information collection requirement 

or request: 1,380. 

10. Abstract: States and Tribes are 

involved and interested in monitoring 

the safety status of nuclear power plants 

and radioactive materials. This 

involvement is, in part, in response to 

the States’ and Tribes’ public health and 

safety responsibilities and, in part, in 

response to their citizens’ desire to 

become more knowledgeable about the 

safety of nuclear power plants and 

radioactive materials. States have 

identified NRC inspections as one 

possible source of knowledge for their 

personnel regarding plant and materials 

licensee activities, and the NRC, 

through the policy statement on 

Cooperation with States, has been 

amenable to accommodating the States’ 

needs in this regard. Additionally, the 

NRC has been able to accommodate 

Tribal interests in the same way. The 

NRC has also entered into reimbursable 

Agreements with certain States under 

Section 274i of the Act, as amended, to 

employ their resources to conduct 

radioactive materials security 

inspections against NRC Orders. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day 

of January 2016. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Kristen Benney, 

Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the 

Chief Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2016–01617 Filed 1–26–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–76965; File No. SR–BYX– 

2016–01] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS 

Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change to Rule 11.24, Retail Price 

Improvement Program, To Extend the 

Pilot Period 

January 22, 2016. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

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

notice is hereby given that on January 

12, 2016, BATS Y-Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BYX’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I and II 

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 the Substance 

of the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange filed a proposal to 

extend the pilot period for the 

Exchange’s Retail Price Improvement 

(‘‘RPI’’) Program (the ‘‘Program’’), which 

is currently set to expire on January 31, 

2016, for 6 months, to expire on July 31, 

2016. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available at the Exchange’s Web site 

at www.batstrading.com, at the 

principal office of the Exchange, 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 parts of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

In November 2012, the Commission 

approved the RPI Program on a pilot 

basis.3 The Program is designed to 

attract retail order flow to the Exchange, 

and allows such order flow to receive 

potential price improvement. The 

Program is currently limited to trades 

occurring at prices equal to or greater 

than $1.00 per share. Under the 

Program, all Exchange Users 4 are 

permitted to provide potential price 

improvement for Retail Orders 5 in the 

form of non-displayed interest that is 

better than the national best bid that is 

a Protected Quotation (‘‘Protected 

NBB’’) or the national best offer that is 

a Protected Quotation (‘‘Protected 

NBO’’, and together with the Protected 

NBB, the ‘‘Protected NBBO’’).6

The Program was approved by the 

Commission on a pilot basis running 

one-year from the date of 

implementation.7 The Commission 

approved the Program on November 27, 

2012.8 The Exchange implemented the 

Program on January 11, 2013, and has 

extended the pilot period two times.9

The pilot period for the Program is 

scheduled to end on January 31, 2016. 

Proposal to Extend the Operation of the 

Program 

The Exchange established the RPI 

Program in an attempt to attract retail 

order flow to the Exchange by 

potentially providing price 

improvement to such order flow. The 

Exchange believes that the Program 

promotes competition for retail order 

flow by allowing Exchange members to 

submit Retail Price Improvement Orders 

(‘‘RPI Orders’’) 10 to interact with Retail 

Orders. Such competition has the ability 

to promote efficiency by facilitating the 

price discovery process and generating 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 27, 2016 / Notices 4683 

11See RPI Approval Order, supra note 3 at 71655. 

12Concurrently with this filing, the Exchange has 

submitted a request for an extension of the 

exemption under Regulation NMS Rule 612 

previously granted by the Commission that permits 

it to accept and rank the RPI orders in sub-penny 

increments. See Letter from Anders Franzon, SVP, 

Associate General Counsel, BATS Y-Exchange, Inc. 

to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities and 

Exchange Commission dated January 12, 2016. 

13 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

14 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

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

16 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

17The Exchange has fulfilled this requirement. 

18 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

19 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

20 Id. 

21For purposes only of waiving the operative 

delay, the Commission has considered the proposed 

rule’s impact on efficiency, competition, and capital 

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

additional investor interest in trading 

securities, thereby promoting capital 

formation. The Exchange believes that 

extending the pilot is appropriate 

because it will allow the Exchange and 

the Commission additional time to 

gather and analyze data regarding the 

Program that the Exchange has 

committed to provide.11 As such, the 

Exchange believes that it is appropriate 

to extend the current operation of the 

Program.12 Through this filing, the 

Exchange seeks to extend the current 

pilot period of the Program until July 

31, 2016. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with the 

requirements of the Act and the rules 

and regulations thereunder that are 

applicable to a national securities 

exchange, and, in particular, with the 

requirements of Section 6(b) of the 

Act.13 In particular, the Exchange 

believes the proposed change furthers 

the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the 

Act,14 in that it is designed to prevent 

fraudulent and manipulative acts and 

practices, to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to foster cooperation 

and coordination with persons engaged 

in facilitating transactions in securities, 

and to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system. The Exchange believes that 

extending the pilot period for the RPI 

Program is consistent with these 

principles because the Program is 

reasonably designed to attract retail 

order flow to the exchange environment, 

while helping to ensure that retail 

investors benefit from the better price 

that liquidity providers are willing to 

give their orders. Additionally, as 

previously stated, the competition 

promoted by the Program may facilitate 

the price discovery process and 

potentially generate additional investor 

interest in trading securities. The 

extension of the pilot period will allow 

the Commission and the Exchange to 

continue to monitor the Program for its 

potential effects on public price 

discovery, and on the broader market 

structure. 

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. The 

proposed rule change extends an 

established pilot program for 6 months, 

thus allowing the RPI Program to 

enhance competition for retail order 

flow and contribute to the public price 

discovery process. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

The Exchange has not solicited, and 

does not intend to solicit, comments on 

this proposed rule change. The 

Exchange has not received any written 

comments from Members or other 

interested parties. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The Exchange has filed the proposed 

rule change pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 15 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) 16 thereunder. Because the 

foregoing proposed rule does not: (i) 

Significantly affect the protection of 

investors or the public interest; (ii) 

impose any significant burden on 

competition; and (iii) become operative 

for 30 days from the date on which it 

was filed, or such shorter time as the 

Commission may designate if consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

public interest, provided that the selfregulatory organization has given the 

Commission written notice of its intent 

to file the proposed rule change at least 

five business days prior to the date of 

filing of the proposed rule change or 

such shorter time as designated by the 

Commission,17 the proposed rule 

change has become effective pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 18 and 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.19

Under Rule 19b–4(f)(6) of the Act,20 a 

proposal does not become operative for 

30 days after the date of its filing, or 

such shorter time as the Commission 

may designate if consistent with the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest. The Exchange has requested 

that the Commission waive the 30-day 

operative delay period after which a 

proposed rule change under Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) becomes operative so that the 

proposal may become operative 

immediately upon filing. The 

Commission believes that waiver of the 

30-day operative delay is consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

public interest because such waiver 

would allow the pilot program to 

continue uninterrupted. Accordingly, 

the Commission hereby grants the 

Exchange’s request and designates the 

proposal operative upon filing.21

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of such proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend 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. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

change should be approved or 

disapproved. 

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 email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

BYX–2016–01 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–BYX–2016–01. 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 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 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
4684 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 27, 2016 / Notices 

22 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See NOM Rules at Chapter VI, Section 6(c) and 

Section 18. 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67091 

(May 31, 2012), 77 FR 33498 (June 6, 2012) (File 

No. 4–631) (Order Approving, on a Pilot Basis, the 

National Market System Plan To Address 

Extraordinary Market Volatility). See also Rule 608 

of Regulation NMS under the Act. 

5 If the National Best Offer (‘‘NBO’’) equals the 

lower price band without crossing the NBBO, or 

National Best Bid (‘‘NBB’’) equals the upper price 

band without crossing the NBBO, then the stock 

will enter a limit state quotation period of 15 

seconds during which no new reference prices or 

price bands will be calculated. A stock will exit the 

limit state when the entire size of all quotations are 

executed or cancelled. If the limit state exists and 

trading continues to occur at the price band, or no 

trading occurs within the price band, for more than 

15 seconds, then a five minute trading pause will 

be enacted. 

6While LULD bands are in place from 9:30 to 

4:00 p.m. E.T. each trading day, these new 

protections will be in place for each trading session. 

7An Intermarket Sweep or ISO Order, which is 

an Order that is immediately executable within the 

Nasdaq Market Center against Orders against which 

they are marketable, is subject to LOP. See 

NASDAQ Rule 4702. 

8 If an Order is modified, LOP will review the 

order anew and, if LOP is triggered, such 

modification will not take effect and the original 

order will not be accepted. 

9LOP has the ability to suspend by symbol or 

system wide. The Exchange would notify market 

participants of any suspension that may be in place 

via an alert. 

10The Nasdaq Rulebook provides specific rules 

for certain auction mechanisms, such as the 

opening, closing and initial public offering process. 

The mechanisms contain their own protections 

with respect to the entry of Orders within those 

mechanisms. The addition of the proposed 

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 Web site 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 

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–BYX– 

2016–01, and should be submitted on or 

before February 17, 2016. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.22

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2016–01664 Filed 1–26–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–76956; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2016–005] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing of Proposed Rule Change To 

Adopt a Limit Order Protection and a 

Market Order Protection 

January 21, 2016. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

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

notice is hereby given that on January 

12, 2016, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 

(‘‘Nasdaq’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I and II 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 proposes to amend 

Nasdaq’s Rule 4757, entitled ‘‘Book 

Processing’’ to adopt a Limit Order 

Protection or ‘‘LOP’’ and a Market Order 

Protection for members accessing the 

Nasdaq Market Center. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s Web site 

at http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com, at 

the principal office of the Exchange, 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 adopt two 

new mechanisms to protect against 

erroneous orders which are entered into 

the Nasdaq Market Center. Specifically, 

these features address risks to market 

participants of human error in entering 

Orders at unintended prices. LOP and 

the Market Order Protection would 

prevent certain Orders from executing 

or being placed on the Order Book at 

prices outside pre-set standard limits. 

The System would not accept such 

Orders, rather than executing them 

automatically. The proposed LOP and 

Market Order Protection features are 

similar to risk features which exist 

today on the NASDAQ Options Market 

LLC (‘‘NOM’’) 3 and are available for 

Options Participants. 

Background 

Today, the National Market System 

Plan to Address Extraordinary Market 

Volatility (the ‘‘Plan’’) 4 provides a limit 

up-limit down (‘‘LULD’’) mechanism 

designed to prevent trades in NMS 

securities from occurring outside of 

specified price bands. The bands are set 

at a percentage level above and below 

the average transaction price of the 

security over the immediately preceding 

five-minute period, and are calculated 

on a continuous basis during regular 

trading hours.5 Rule 4120, entitled 

‘‘Limit Up-Limit Down Plan and 

Trading Halts,’’ describes this process 

for the Nasdaq Market Center. 

The Exchange proposes to adopt two 

new features, LOP for Limit Orders and 

Market Order Protection for Market 

Orders, which would cancel these 

Orders back to the member when the 

order exceeds certain defined logic. 

These two new features would be in 

addition to the LULD protections, which 

exist today.6 Each mechanism is 

explained further below. 

LOP 

The Exchange proposes to adopt a 

new LOP feature on the Nasdaq Market 

Center to prevent certain Limit Orders at 

prices outside of pre-set standard limits 

(‘‘LOP Limit Table’’) from being 

accepted by the System. LOP shall 

apply to all Quotes and Orders,7

including any modified Orders.8 LOP 

would not apply to Market Orders. LOP 

would be operational each trading day, 

except during opening and closing 

crosses, initial public offerings and 

trading halts.9 Since Nasdaq Rules 

provided controls for the opening, 

closing and initial public offering 

processes within the Rulebook, the 

proposed protections are rendered 

ineffective for those processes.10


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