7616 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 29 / Friday, February 12, 2016 / Notices 

19 17 CFR§ 240.17Ad-22(b)(2–3). 20 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

ICC believes will provide sufficient 

margin and financial resources to 

support the clearing of the new 

contracts consistent with the margin 

and financial resource requirements of 

Rule 17Ad-22(b)(2–3).19

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

ICC does not believe the proposed 

rule change would have any impact, or 

impose any burden, on competition. 

The iTraxx Asia/Pacific Contracts and 

SAS Contracts will be available for 

clearing to all ICC Clearing Participants. 

The clearing of iTraxx Asia/Pacific 

Contracts and SAS Contracts by ICC 

does not preclude the offering of this 

product for clearing by other market 

participants. Further, the changes to the 

ICC End-of-Day Price Discovery Policies 

and Procedures, ICC Risk Management 

Framework, and ICC Risk Management 

Model Description document apply 

uniformly across all market participants. 

Therefore, ICC does not believe the 

proposed rule change imposes any 

burden on competition that is 

inappropriate 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 

Written comments relating to the 

proposed rule change have not been 

solicited or received. ICC will notify the 

Commission of any written comments 

received by ICC. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 45 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period 

up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may 

designate if it finds such longer period 

to be appropriate and publishes its 

reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which 

the self-regulatory organization 

consents, the Commission will: 

(A) By order approve or disapprove 

the proposed rule change or 

(B) institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be 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– 

ICC–2016–002 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–ICC–2016–002. 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 

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 

filings will also be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of ICE Clear Credit and on ICE 

Clear Credit’s Web site at https://

www.theice.com/clear-credit/regulation. 

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–ICC–2016–002 and should 

be submitted on or before March 4, 

2016. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.20

Robert W. Errett, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02839 Filed 2–11–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 

20549–2736. 

Extension: 

Rules 17Ad–22—Clearing Agency 

Standards and Governance. SEC File No. 

270–646, OMB Control No. 3235–0695. 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(‘‘PRA’’) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the existing collection of information 

provided for in Rules 17Ad-22 under 

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The Commission 

plans to submit this existing collection 

of information to the Office of 

Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for 

extension and approval. 

Standards for Clearing Agencies 

a. Measurement and Management of 

Credit Exposures 

Rule 17Ad–22(b)(1) would require a 

clearing agency that provides CCP 

services to establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

measure its credit exposures to its 

participants at least once each day, and 

limit its exposures to potential losses 

from defaults by its participants in 

normal market conditions so that the 

operations of the clearing agency would 

not be disrupted and non-defaulting 

participants would not be exposed to 

losses that they cannot anticipate or 

control. The purpose of the collection of 

information is to enable the clearing 

agency to monitor and limit its 

exposures to its participants. 

b. Margin Requirements 

Rule 17Ad–22(b)(2) would require a 

clearing agency that provides CCP 

services to establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to: 

(i) Use margin requirements to limit its 

credit exposures to participants in 

normal market conditions; (ii) use riskbased models and parameters to set 

margin requirements; and (iii) review 

the models and parameters at least 

monthly. The purpose of the collection 

of information is to enable the clearing 

agency to maintain sufficient collateral 

or margin. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 29 / Friday, February 12, 2016 / Notices 7617 

c. Financial Resources 

Rule 17Ad–22(b)(3) would require a 

clearing agency that provides CCP 

services to establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

maintain sufficient financial resources 

to withstand, at a minimum, a default 

by the participant family to which it has 

the largest exposure in extreme but 

plausible market conditions, provided 

that a registered clearing agency acting 

as a central counterparty for securitybased swaps shall maintain additional 

financial resources sufficient to 

withstand, at a minimum, a default by 

the two participant families to which it 

has the largest exposures in extreme but 

plausible market conditions, in its 

capacity as a central counterparty for 

security-based swaps. The purpose of 

the collection of information is to enable 

the clearing agency to satisfy all of its 

settlement obligations in the event of a 

participant default. 

d. Model Validation 

Rule 17Ad–22(b)(4) would require a 

clearing agency that provides CCP 

services to establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

provide for an annual model validation 

consisting of evaluating the performance 

of the clearing agency’s margin models 

and the related parameters and 

assumptions associated with such 

models by a qualified person who is free 

from influence from the persons 

responsible for the development or 

operation of the models being validated. 

The purpose of the collection of 

information is to enable the clearing 

agency to obtain an assessment of its 

margin model by a qualified, 

independent person. 

e. Non-Dealer Access 

Rule 17Ad–22(b)(5) would require a 

clearing agency that provides CCP 

services to establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

provide the opportunity for a person 

that does not perform any dealer or 

security-based swap dealer services to 

obtain membership at the clearing 

agency to clear securities for itself or on 

behalf of other persons. The purpose of 

the collection of information is to enable 

more market participants to obtain 

indirect access to clearing agencies. 

f. Portfolio Size and Transaction 

Volume Restrictions 

Rule 17Ad–22(b)(6) would require a 

clearing agency that provides CCP 

services to establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

have membership standards that do not 

require that participants maintain a 

portfolio of any minimum size or that 

participants maintain a minimum 

transaction volume. The purpose of the 

collection of information is to remove 

unnecessary barriers to participation in 

clearing agencies that provide CCP 

services. 

g. Net Capital Restrictions 

Rule 17Ad–22(b)(7) would require a 

clearing agency that provides CCP 

services to establish, implement, 

maintain and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

provide a person that maintains net 

capital equal to or greater than $50 

million with the ability to obtain 

membership at the clearing agency, 

provided that such persons are able to 

comply with other reasonable 

membership standards, with any net 

capital requirements being scalable so 

that they are proportional to the risks 

posed by the participant’s activities to 

the clearing agency. The rule also 

permits a clearing agency to provide for 

a higher net capital requirement (i.e., 

higher than $50 million) as a condition 

for membership at the clearing agency if 

the clearing agency demonstrates to the 

Commission that such a requirement is 

necessary to mitigate risks that could 

not otherwise be effectively managed by 

other measures, such as scalable 

limitations on the transactions that the 

participants may clear through the 

clearing agency, and the Commission 

approves the higher net capital 

requirement as part of a rule filing or 

clearing agency registration application. 

The purpose of the collection of 

information is to remove unnecessary 

barriers to clearing access by market 

participants with a net capital level 

above $50 million, while at the same 

time facilitating sound risk management 

practices by clearing agencies by 

encouraging them to examine and 

articulate the benefits that higher net 

capital requirements would create 

through having clearing agencies 

develop scalable membership standards 

that links the activities any participants 

could potentially engage in with the 

potential risks posed by the participant. 

h. Record of Financial Resources 

Rule 17Ad–22(c)(1) would require 

that each fiscal quarter (based on 

calculations made as of the last business 

day of the clearing agency’s fiscal 

quarter), or at any time upon 

Commission request, a clearing agency 

that performs CCP services shall 

calculate and maintain a record of the 

financial resources necessary to meet 

the requirement in Rule 17Ad-22(b)(3) 

and sufficient documentation to explain 

the methodology it uses to compute 

such financial resource requirement. 

The purpose of the collection of 

information is to enable the Commission 

to monitor the financial resources of 

clearing agencies that provide CCP 

services. 

i. Annual Audited Financial Statements 

Rule 17Ad–22(c)(2) would require a 

clearing agency to post on its Web site 

an annual audited financial statement 

that must (i) be a complete set of 

financial statements of the clearing 

agency for the most recent two fiscal 

years of the clearing agency and be 

prepared in accordance with U.S. 

generally accepted accounting 

principles (‘‘U.S. GAAP’’), except that 

for a clearing agency that is a 

corporation or other organization 

incorporated or organized under the 

laws of any foreign country, the 

financial statements may be prepared 

according to U.S. GAAP or International 

Financial Reporting Standards as issued 

by the International Accounting 

Standards Board (‘‘IFRS’’); (ii) be 

audited in accordance with standards of 

the Public Company Accounting 

Oversight Board by a registered public 

accounting firm that is qualified and 

independent in accordance with Rule 2– 

01 of Regulation S–X (17 CFR 210.2–01); 

and (iii) include a report of the 

registered public accounting firm that 

complies with paragraphs (a) through 

(d) of Rule 2–02 of Regulation S–X (17 

CFR 210.2–02). The purpose of the 

collection of information is to enable the 

Commission to monitor the financial 

resources of clearing agencies that 

provide CCP services. 

j. Transparent and Enforceable Rules 

and Procedures 

Rule 17Ad–22(d)(1) would require 

clearing agencies to establish, 

implement, maintain and enforce 

written policies and procedures 

reasonably designed to provide for a 

well-founded, transparent, and 

enforceable legal framework for each 

aspect of their activities in all relevant 

jurisdictions. The purpose of the 

collection of information is to help 

ensure that clearing agencies’ policies 

and procedures do not cause confusion 

or legal uncertainty among their 

participants because they are unclear, 

incomplete or conflict with other 

applicable laws or judicial precedent. 

The Commission believes that 10 

registered clearing agencies will incur a 

total burden of approximately 8,029 

hours annually. 


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7618 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 29 / Friday, February 12, 2016 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 66616 

(March 16, 2012) 77 FR 16879 (March 22, 2012) 

(SR–Phlx–2012–11) (Order Granting Approval of 

Proposed Rule Change Regarding the Listing and 

Trading of PHLX FOREX OptionsTM). In the 

approval order the Commission approved listing 

and trading of PHLX FOREX Options the British 

pound, the Swiss franc, the Canadian dollar, the 

Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar, and the 

Euro. These six foreign currencies also underlie 

another type of foreign currency option that is 

currently listed and traded on the Exchange 

(referred to as either ‘‘FCOs’’ or World Currency 

Options, ‘‘WCOs’’). The primary difference between 

FCOs and the PHLX FOREX Options is the pricing 

convention of PHLX FOREX Options, which 

resembles the ‘‘spot market pricing’’ on the 

underlying currencies. The proposal to delist the 

PHLX FOREX OptionsTM does not affect the 

continued listing and trading of FCOs on the 

Exchange. 

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

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

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

under the PRA unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

The public may view background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following Web site: 

www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be 

directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, Room 10102, New Executive 

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 

or by sending an email to: shagufta_

ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela 

Dyson, Director/Chief Information 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 

100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549, 

or by sending an email to PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be 

submitted to OMB within 30 days of 

this notice. 

Dated: February 8, 2015. 

Robert W. Errett, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02832 Filed 2–11–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–77076; File No. SR–Phlx– 

2016–16] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

NASDAQ PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change To Delete 

Obsolete Rules 1000C–1009C 

February 8, 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 February 

1, 2016, NASDAQ PHLX LLC (‘‘Phlx’’ or 

the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘SEC’’ or the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III, 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 delete 

obsolete Rules 1000C–1009C, 

collectively captioned Rules Applicable 

to Trading of PHLX FOREX OptionsTM. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s Web site 

at http://

nasdaqomxphlx.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 

PHLX FOREX Options TM

The Exchange’s rules for listing and 

trading PHLX FOREX Options were 

approved by the Commission in 2012 3

but were never in fact listed or traded 

on Phlx. The Exchange has no current 

intention to list or trade PHLX FOREX 

Options in the foreseeable future. 

Accordingly, the Exchange proposes to 

delete the caption ‘‘Rules Applicable to 

Trading of PHLX FOREX Options TM

(Rules 1000C–1009C)’’ as well as Rules 

1000C through 1009C dealing solely 

with PHLX FOREX Options. 

The Exchange also proposes to make 

conforming changes to Phlx Option 

Floor Procedure Advices F–6, Option 

Quote Parameters, and F–15, Minor 

Infractions of Position/Exercise Limits 

and Hedge Exemptions, removing 

language which is specific to PHLX 

FOREX Options. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act 4 in general, and furthers the 

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

in particular, in that it is designed to 

promote just and equitable principles of 

trade, to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and, in general to protect 

investors and the public interest. In 

particular, this proposed change 

removes from the Phlx rulebook the 

rules applicable to PHLX FOREX 

Options and makes conforming changes 

as needed to certain other rules. The 

rule language to be deleted is not 

relevant or necessary because it deals 

solely with PHLX FOREX Options 

which were never listed or traded on the 

Exchange. Removing this rule language 

from the Phlx rulebook will help 

eliminate potential member and 

investor confusion about products listed 

and traded on Phlx. 

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 not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. The 

proposed change is not designed to 

address any competitive issue but 

would merely remove rule language 

relating to PHLX FOREX Options that is 

not relevant to the Exchange’s business 

in any respect. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were either 

solicited or received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change 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, it has 

become effective pursuant to Section 


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