[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 234 (Friday, December 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72220-72221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28545]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-73711; File No. SR-OPRA-2013-03]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Order Approving an Amendment 
to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and 
Quotation Information To Amend Sections 5.4 and 7.1 of the OPRA Plan

December 1, 2014.

I. Introduction

    On October 21, 2013, the Options Price Reporting Authority 
(``OPRA'') submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission''), pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ an amendment to 
the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and 
Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The proposed OPRA Plan 
amendment would modify Sections 5.4 and 7.1 of the OPRA Plan as they 
relate to operations of OPRA outside of OPRA's regular hours of 
operations.\4\ The proposed OPRA Plan amendment was published for 
comment in the Federal Register on August 18, 2014.\5\ The Commission 
received no comment letters in response to the Notice.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by 
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608 
thereunder. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (March 18, 
1981), 22 SE.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 1981). The full text of the 
OPRA Plan is available at http://www.opradata.com. The OPRA Plan 
provides for the collection and dissemination of last sale and 
quotation information on options that are traded on the participant 
exchanges. The twelve participants to the OPRA Plan are BATS 
Exchange, Inc., BOX Options Exchange, LLC, Chicago Board Options 
Exchange, Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated, 
International Securities Exchange, LLC, Miami International 
Securities Exchange, LLC, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC, 
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE MKT LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., and Topaz 
Exchange, LLC (d/b/a ISE Gemini).
    \4\ OPRA's regular hours of operations are from 7:30 a.m. to 
6:00 p.m. Eastern time. See Section 5.3 of the OPRA Plan.
    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72820 (August 12, 
2014), 79 FR 48779 (``Notice'').
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    This order approves the proposed OPRA Plan amendment.

II. Description of the Proposal

    The purpose of the proposed amendment is to (1) amend the OPRA Plan 
so that it provides for the aggregation of costs for operations of OPRA 
outside of its regular hours of operations (``after-hours operations'') 
with costs for operations of OPRA during its regular hours of 
operations (``regular-hours operations''); and (2) state expressly that 
OPRA may establish separate fees for access to OPRA data during periods 
of after-hours operations.\6\
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    \6\ OPRA does not currently operate outside of its regular hours 
of operations. However, according to OPRA, one of its member 
exchanges has indicated that it is planning to initiate after-hours 
trading and requested that OPRA operate during the after-hours 
period when its market will be open for trading. The current OPRA 
Plan provides that the OPRA System will operate outside of its 
regular hours of operation at the request of any one or more of its 
member exchanges. See Section 5.3 of the OPRA Plan. OPRA is not 
proposing any changes to Section 5.3 of the OPRA Plan.
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    Currently, the OPRA Plan provides that the costs of OPRA's after-
hour operations are to be allocated separately from the costs of OPRA's 
regular-hour operations and in a somewhat different manner. The OPRA 
Plan currently provides that the costs of OPRA's regular-hour 
operations below a specified ceiling \7\ and OPRA's revenues from 
regular-hour operations are both to be allocated among the OPRA member 
exchanges on the basis of the relative number of compared trades in 
options contracts traded on each of the OPRA member exchanges.\8\
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    \7\ Clause 7.1(a)(iii)(2) of the OPRA Plan provides that costs 
above a ``specified ceiling'' are to be allocated in accordance with 
OPRA's Capacity Guidelines. The ``ceiling'' is described in 
Guideline 7 of the Capacity Guidelines. OPRA is not proposing any 
changes in the allocation of costs as described in the Capacity 
Guidelines.
    \8\ See Section 7.1 of the OPRA Plan.
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    The current provisions of the OPRA Plan state that, if the OPRA 
System operates outside of OPRA's regular hours, any costs attributable 
to such operation will be allocated to the exchange or exchanges that 
are actually operating during the after-hours period. The OPRA Plan 
does not make any special provision for the allocation of revenues 
derived from fees for access to OPRA data generated in the course of 
after-hours operations, and the OPRA Plan therefore provides that these 
revenues will be allocated among the OPRA member exchanges in the same 
way that revenues derived from regular-hours operations are allocated. 
The result is that the OPRA Plan currently provides for the allocation 
of costs of after-hours trading only to the exchange or exchanges that 
are actually operating during the after-hours period, but for the 
allocation of revenues resulting from fees for access to quotation and 
last sale information generated in the course of after-hours operations 
to all of the OPRA member exchanges on the basis of the relative number 
of compared trades in options contracts traded on each of the OPRA 
member exchanges in trading during both regular hours and outside of 
regular hours.
    OPRA is therefore proposing to revise the OPRA Plan to provide that 
the costs of after-hours operations will be aggregated with the costs 
of operating the OPRA System during regular hours of operation. As a 
result of the proposed change, the aggregated costs of operating the 
System during all hours of operation would be allocated among all of 
OPRA's member exchanges, regardless of whether any particular exchange 
operates its market outside of regular hours.
    In addition, OPRA's Fee Schedule does not currently provide 
specific fees for access to OPRA data during periods

[[Page 72221]]

of after-hours operations. Therefore, OPRA is proposing to add a 
sentence to Section 5.4(d) of the OPRA Plan to state expressly that it 
may establish such fees.\9\
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    \9\ OPRA is also proposing to make a non-substantive change to 
Section 5.4(d) of the OPRA Plan to reflect that the OPRA Fee 
Schedule is no longer identified as ``Exhibit B'' to the OPRA Plan 
but is publicly available on the OPRA Web site under the ``Fees'' 
tab.
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III. Discussion

    After careful review, the Commission finds that the proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the 
rules and regulations thereunder.\10\ Specifically, the Commission 
finds that the proposed OPRA Plan amendment is consistent with Section 
11A of the Act \11\ and Rule 608 thereunder \12\ in that it is 
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors and 
the maintenance of fair and orderly markets, and to remove impediments 
to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system. OPRA 
believes that the proposed amendment will better align the provisions 
of the OPRA Plan relating to the allocation of costs of after-hours 
operations with the provisions of the OPRA Plan relating to the 
allocation of revenues derived from after-hours trading. The Commission 
believes that OPRA's proposal is consistent with Section 11A of the Act 
\13\ and Rule 608 thereunder.\14\
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    \10\ In approving this proposed OPRA Plan Amendment, the 
Commission has considered its impact on efficiency, competition, and 
capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \12\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \14\ 17 CFR 242.608.
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IV. Conclusion

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 11A of the Act,\15\ 
and Rule 608 thereunder,\16\ that the proposed OPRA Plan amendment (SR-
OPRA-2013-03) be, and it hereby is, approved.
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    \15\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \16\ 17 CFR 242.608.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
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    \17\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-28545 Filed 12-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P