[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2412-2413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-426]



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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-35181; File No. SR-MSRB-94-18]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by the Municipal Securities 
Rulemaking Board Relating to Fees for Subscription to the Transaction 
Reporting Pilot Program

December 30, 1994.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''), 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1), notice is hereby given that on December 
16, 1994, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, Inc. (``MSRB'' or 
``Board'') 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 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 MSRB is filing herewith a proposed rule change to establish a 
fee for an annual subscription to a Service (the ``Service'') which 
will provide daily reports of transaction data from the Board's 
Transaction Reporting Pilot Program (``the Pilot Program''). The Board 
will charge a fee for the Service equal to a yearly rate of $15,000. 
The proposed fee is structured to defray the Board's cost of 
disseminating the transaction data and to defray, in part, the cost of 
collecting and compiling inter-dealer transaction data that will be 
used in the Pilot Program both for the Service and for a comprehensive 
surveillance database. The Board does not expect or intend to make a 
profit from the Service, and will review the fee annually to determine 
whether adjustments are necessary.

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 these statements may be examined at 
the places specified in Item IV below. The self-regulatory organization 
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
    Background and Description of the Pilot Program. On November 9, 
1994, the Commission approved the Board's plan for the Pilot Program 
for collecting inter-dealer transaction data and the production and 
sale of daily transaction reports containing certain summarized data 
about the inter-dealer transactions.\1\ Operation of the Pilot Program 
is planned to commence with reporting of inter-dealer trades on or 
after January 2, 1995.\2\ As part of the Pilot Program, the Board also 
will make information on all inter-dealer trades in municipal 
securities available to the Commission and other regulatory agencies in 
a ``surveillance database'' to assist in inspection and enforcement of 
Board rules. This data on specific transactions, which will include the 
identity of dealers, will not be publicly available and will not be 
included in the Service.

    \1\See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34955 (November 9, 
1994), 59 FR 59810.
    \2\The Pilot Program is the first phase of a system in which the 
Board ultimately intends to make available transaction information 
which is both comprehensive and contemporaneous. In other phases, 
information for institutional and retail customer transactions will 
be added to the system. In a recent letter to the Commission, the 
Board outlined the four-phase plan, of which the present fee filing 
applies to phase one. See letter from Robert Drysdale, Chairman, 
MSRB, to Arthur Levitt, Chairman, SEC, dated November 3, 1994. The 
Board will submit to the Commission a proposed rule change prior to 
the implementation of each planned phase.
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    The Pilot Program will collect inter-dealer transaction data by 
using data submitted to the automated comparison system for inter-
dealer municipal securities transactions. The transaction reports will 
provide aggregate data about market volume on the previous business day 
and will provide summary price and volume data about those issues that 
were traded at or above a threshold number of times on that day. For 
each of these issues, the report will provide high, low and average 
prices of the transactions in the issue, along with the total par value 
traded and the number of trades in the issue. The average prices (but 
not the high and low prices) will be calculated based upon those trades 
in a ``band'' of $100,000 to $1 million par value. The prices and par 
values of individual transactions will not be included in the 
transaction reports, but will be available to the enforcement agencies 
in the surveillance database.
    As part of the Service, the Board will provide the transaction 
reports to the [[Page 2413]] subscribers for public use by 
approximately 6:00 a.m. on the first business day after the trade. The 
reports will be electronically disseminated to subscribers by computer 
modem.\3\

    \3\A paper copy of each transaction report will be made 
available in the Board's Public Access Facility, located at 1640 
King Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, Virginia. There will be no 
charge for viewing the report. Documents in the Public Access 
Facility can be copied at a cost of 20 cents per page plus sales 
tax.
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    The Service will be made available to all interested persons on 
equal terms. In particular, the Board will ensure that interested 
persons are provided access to the reports on a non-discriminatory 
basis and in a manner that would not confer special or unfair economic 
benefit to any person. The Board also will encourage and facilitate the 
re-dissemination of the reports by private information vendors so that 
the widest possible spectrum of market participants can be reached.
    Cost and Fees. Total system development costs, hardware and 
software acquisition, and other start-up expenses for the Pilot Program 
are estimated to be $500,000 to $600,000. These costs include the 
common computer system that will be used for generating and managing 
the daily transaction reports as well as operation of the surveillance 
database. Yearly operating costs, including the costs of producing and 
disseminating the transaction reports and the costs of operating the 
surveillance database are expected to approximate $500,000 to $600,000. 
The Board estimates that it may have 20 subscribers to the Service, 
which would generate $300,000 a year in revenue at the annual 
subscription rate of $15,000. These revenues are expected to be 
sufficient to pay the entire marginal costs of operating the Service, 
including the cost of producing the transaction reports, and should 
also cover a portion of the basic data processing costs for the Pilot 
Program, i.e., the common computer hardware and software that is needed 
to operate both the Service and the surveillance database. The Board 
believes that this Plan will produce a fair allocation of Pilot Program 
costs.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Board believes the proposed rule change is consistent with 
Section 15B(b)(2)(C) of the Act, which requires, in pertinent part, 
that the Board's rules shall:

    Be 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 
regulating, clearing, settling, processing information with respect 
to, and facilitating transactions in municipal securities, to remove 
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market 
in municipal securities, and, in general, to protect investors and 
the public interest. * * *\4\

    \4\15 U.S.C. 78O-4(b)(2)(C) (1988).
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    The Pilot Program is designed to increase the integrity and 
efficiency of the municipal securities market by, among other things, 
helping to ensure that the price charged for an issue in the secondary 
market reflects all available price information about that issue. 
Moreover, the availability of aggregate data about market activity and 
certain volume and price information about municipal securities will 
promote investor confidence in the market and its pricing mechanisms. 
The Board believes that the fee for the Service is fair and reasonable 
in light of costs associated with compiling and disseminating the 
information, and that the Service is available on reasonable and non-
discriminatory terms to any interested person.

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

    The Board does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act, since the Service will be made 
available to all interested persons on an equal basis and the fee will 
be applied equally to all persons who wish to subscribe to the Service.

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

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received.

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

    The foregoing rule change establishes or changes a due, fee, or 
other charge imposed by the MSRB and therefore has become effective 
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act,\5\ and subparagraph (e) of 
Rule 19b-4 thereunder.\6\ At any time within 60 days of the filing of 
such 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.

    \5\15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A) (1988).
    \6\15 CFR 240.19b-4(e) (1994).
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IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and 
arguments concerning the foregoing. Persons making written submissions 
should file six copies thereof with the Secretary, Securities and 
Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. 
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 at the 
Commission's Public Reference Room. Copies of such filing will also be 
available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the 
MSRB. All submissions should refer to File No. SR-MSRB-94-18 and should 
be submitted by January 30, 1995.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority, 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-426 Filed 1-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M