Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 5 / Thursday, January 8, 2015 / Notices 1055 

1The $380 per hour figure for an Attorney is from 

SIFMA’s Management & Professional Earnings in 

the Securities Industry 2013, modified by 

Commission staff to account for an 1800-hour workyear and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, 

firm size, employee benefits and overhead. 

2The $57 per hour figure for a General Clerk is 

from SIFMA’s Office Salaries in the Securities 

Industry 2013, modified by Commission staff to 

account for an 1800-hour work-year and multiplied 

by 2.93 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee 

benefits and overhead. The staff believes that the 

ODD would be mailed or electronically delivered to 

customers by a general clerk of the broker-dealer or 

some other equivalent position. 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

each market, as well as amendments to 

the ODD. These respondents file 

approximately 3 amendments per year. 

The staff calculates that the preparation 

and filing of amendments should take 

no more than eight hours per options 

market. Thus, the total time burden for 

options markets per year is 288 hours 

(12 options markets × 8 hours per 

amendment × 3 amendments). The 

estimated cost for an in-house attorney 

is $380 per hour,1 resulting in a total 

internal cost of compliance for these 

respondents of $109,440 per year (288 

hours at $380 per hour). 

In addition, approximately 1,500 

broker-dealers must comply with Rule 

9b–1. Each of these respondents will 

process an average of 3 new customers 

for options each week and, therefore, 

will have to furnish approximately 156 

ODDs per year. The postal mailing or 

electronic delivery of the ODD takes 

respondents no more than 30 seconds to 

complete for an annual compliance 

burden for each of these respondents of 

78 minutes or 1.3 hours. Thus, the total 

time burden per year for broker-dealers 

is 1,950 hours (1,500 broker-dealers × 

1.3 hours). The estimated cost for a 

general clerk of a broker-dealer is $57 

per hour,2 resulting in a total internal 

cost of compliance for these 

respondents of $111,150 per year (1,950 

hours at $57 per hour). 

The total time burden for all 

respondents under this rule (both 

options markets and broker-dealers) is 

2,238 hours per year (288 + 1,950), and 

the total internal cost of compliance is 

$220,590 ($109,440 + $111,150). 

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, Acting Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Remi PavlikSimon, 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: January 2, 2015. 

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00053 Filed 1–7–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting 

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to 

the provisions of the Government in the 

Sunshine Act, Public Law 94–409, that 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission will hold a Closed Meeting 

on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 2:00 

p.m. 

Commissioners, Counsel to the 

Commissioners, the Secretary to the 

Commission, and recording secretaries 

will attend the Closed Meeting. Certain 

staff members who have an interest in 

the matters also may be present. 

The General Counsel of the 

Commission, or her designee, has 

certified that, in her opinion, one or 

more of the exemptions set forth in 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c)(3), (5), (7), 9(B) and (10) 

and 17 CFR 200.402(a)(3), (5), (7), 9(ii) 

and (10), permit consideration of the 

scheduled matter at the Closed Meeting. 

Commissioner Gallagher, as duty 

officer, voted to consider the items 

listed for the Closed Meeting in closed 

session, and determined that no earlier 

notice thereof was possible. 

The subject matter of the Closed 

Meeting will be: 

Institution and settlement of 

injunctive actions; 

Institution and settlement of 

administrative proceedings; 

Adjudicatory matter; and 

Other matters relating to enforcement 

proceedings. 

At times, changes in Commission 

priorities require alterations in the 

scheduling of meeting items. 

For further information and to 

ascertain what, if any, matters have been 

added, deleted or postponed, please 

contact the Office of the Secretary at 

(202) 551–5400. 

Dated: January 5, 2015. 

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00161 Filed 1–6–15; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–73976; File No. SR– 

NYSEMKT–2014–117] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

MKT LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Extending Its Program 

That Allows Transactions To Take 

Place at a Price That Is Below $1 per 

Option Contract Until January 5, 2016 

January 2, 2015. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that on December 

30, 2014, NYSE MKT LLC (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE MKT’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by the selfregulatory 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 Exchange proposes to extend its 

program that allows transactions to take 

place at a price that is below $1 per 

option contract until January 5, 2016. 

The text of the proposed rule change is 

available on the Exchange’s Web site at 

www.nyse.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 

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 those 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, 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
1056 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 5 / Thursday, January 8, 2015 / Notices 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 63475 

(December 8, 2010), 75 FR 77932 (December 14, 

2010) (SR–NYSE Amex–2010–114). 

5Currently the $1 cabinet trading procedures are 

limited to options classes traded in $0.05 or $0.10 

standard increment. The $1 cabinet trading 

procedures are not available in Penny Pilot Program 

classes because in those classes an option series can 

trade in a standard increment as low as $0.01 per 

share (or $1.00 per option contract with a 100 share 

multiplier). Because the temporary procedures 

allow trading below $0.01 per share (or $1.00 per 

option contract with a 100 share multiplier), the 

procedures are available for all classes, including 

those classes participating in the Penny Pilot 

Program. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

8The Exchange has satisfied this requirement. 

9 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

10 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

11 Id. 

of the most significant parts of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The purpose of this filing is to extend 

the Pilot Program 4 under Rule 968NY to 

allow accommodation transactions 

(‘‘Cabinet Trades’’) to take place at a 

price that is below $1 per option 

contract for one additional year. The 

Exchange proposes to extend the 

program, which is due to expire on 

January 5, 2015, until January 5, 2016. 

An ‘‘accommodation’’ or ‘‘cabinet’’ 

trade refers to trades in listed options on 

the Exchange that are worthless and 

typically not actively traded. Cabinet 

trading is generally conducted in 

accordance with the Exchange Rules, 

except as provided in Exchange Rule 

968NY Accommodation Transactions 

(Cabinet Trades), which sets forth 

specific procedures for engaging in 

cabinet trades. Rule 968NY currently 

provides for cabinet transactions to 

occur via open outcry at a cabinet price 

of a $1 per option contract in any 

options series open for trading in the 

Exchange, except that the Rule is not 

applicable to trading in option classes 

participating in the Penny Pilot 

Program. Under the procedures, bids 

and offers (whether opening or closing 

a position) at a price of $1 per option 

contract may be represented in the 

trading crowd by a Floor Broker or by 

a Market Maker or provided in response 

to a request by a Trading Official, a 

Floor Broker or a Market Maker, but 

must yield priority to all resting orders 

in the Cabinet (those orders held by the 

Trading Official, and which resting 

cabinet orders may be closing only). So 

long as both the buyer and the seller 

yield to orders resting in the cabinet 

book, opening cabinet bids can trade 

with opening cabinet offers at $1 per 

option contract. 

The Exchange has temporarily 

amended the procedures through 

January 5, 2015 to allow transactions to 

take place in open outcry at a price of 

at least $0 but less than $1 per option 

contract. These lower-priced 

transactions are permitted to be traded 

pursuant to the same procedures 

applicable to $1 cabinet trades, except 

that (i) bids and offers for opening 

transactions are only permitted to 

accommodate closing transactions in 

order to limit use of the procedure to 

liquidations of existing positions, and 

(ii) the procedures are also made 

available for trading in option classes 

participating in the Penny Pilot 

Program.5 The Exchange believes that 

allowing a price of at least $0 but less 

than $1 better accommodates the closing 

of options positions in series that are 

worthless or not actively traded, 

particularly in the event where there has 

been a significant move in the price of 

the underlying security that results in a 

large number of series being out-of-themoney. For example, a market 

participant might have a long position 

in a put series with a strike price of $30 

and the underlying stock might be 

trading at $100. In such an instance, 

there might not otherwise be a market 

for that person to close-out the position 

even at the $1 cabinet price (e.g., the 

series might be quoted no bid). 

As with other accommodation 

liquidations under Rule 968NY, 

transactions that occur for less than $1 

will not be disseminated to the public 

on the consolidated tape. In addition, as 

with other accommodation liquidations 

under Rule 968NY the transactions will 

be exempt from the Consolidated 

Options Audit Trail (‘‘COATS’’) 

requirements of Exchange Rule 955NY 

Order Format and System Entry 

Requirements. However, the Exchange 

will maintain quotation, order and 

transaction information for the 

transactions in the same format as the 

COATS data is maintained. In this 

regard, all transactions for less than $1 

must be reported to the Exchange 

following the close of each business 

day. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with Section 

6(b) 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934 (the ‘‘Act’’), in general, and 

furthers the objectives of Section 

6(b)(5) 7 in particular in that it is 

designed to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to prevent 

fraudulent and manipulative acts, to 

remove impediments to and to perfect 

the mechanism for a free and open 

market and a national market system 

and, in general, to protect investors and 

the public interest. The Exchange 

believes that allowing for liquidations at 

a price less than $1 per option contract 

will better facilitate the closing of 

options positions that are worthless or 

not actively trading, especially in Penny 

Pilot issues where Cabinet Trades are 

not otherwise permitted. 

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 is to extend an 

established pilot program for one 

additional year and continue to 

facilitate ATP Holders ability to close 

positions in worthless or not actively 

traded series. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing 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,8 the proposed rule change 

has become effective pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 9 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.10

Under Rule 19b–4(f)(6) of the Act,11

the 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 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 5 / Thursday, January 8, 2015 / Notices 1057 

12For 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). 

13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

operative delay period after which a 

proposed rule change under Rule 19b– 

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

pilot may continue without 

interruption. The Commission believes 

that waiver of the 30-day operative 

delay is consistent with the protection 

of investors and the public interest 

because it will allow the pilot to 

continue uninterrupted, thereby 

avoiding any potential investor 

confusion that could result from a 

temporary interruption in the pilot and 

allowing members to continue to benefit 

from the program. Based on the 

foregoing, the Commission hereby 

waives the 30-day operative delay and 

designates the proposal operative upon 

filing.12

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the 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 will 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– 

NYSEMKT–2014–117 on the subject 

line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities 

and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSEMKT–2014–117. 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 the 

filing will also be available for 

inspection and copying at the NYSE’s 

principal office and on its Internet Web 

site at www.nyse.com. 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– 

NYSEMKT–2014–117 and should be 

submitted on or before January 29, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.13

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00049 Filed 1–7–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–73978; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2014–125] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change to Impose a 

Minimum Fee for Execution Venues 

Operating a Trading Platform or 

Multiple Platforms That Utilize 

NASDAQ Proprietary Depth Data on a 

Non-Displayed Basis 

January 2, 2015. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

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

notice is hereby given that on January 2, 

2015, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC 

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

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘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 impose a 

minimum fee for execution venues 

operating a trading platform or multiple 

platforms that utilize NASDAQ 

proprietary depth data on a nondisplayed basis and that pay monthly 

aggregate NASDAQ market proprietary 

Depth-of-Book Data fees of less than 

$15,000. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is below; proposed new language is in 

italics; proposed deletions are in 

brackets. 

* * * * * 

7023. NASDAQ Depth-of-Book Data 

(a) Definitions applicable to this rule. 

(1)–(6) No Change. 

(7) The term ‘‘Trading Platform’’ shall 

mean any execution platform operated 

as or by a registered National Securities 

Exchange (as defined in Section 3(a)(1) 

of the Exchange Act), an Alternative 

Trading System (as defined in Rule 

300(a) of Regulation ATS), or an 

Electronic Communications Network (as 

defined by Rule 600(b)(23) of Regulation 

NMS). 

(b) No Change. 

(c) No Change. 

(d) Trading Platform Fee. There shall 

be a minimum monthly fee for entities 

that operate Trading Platforms that 

utilize NASDAQ Depth-of-Book Data on 

a non-display basis and that pay less 

than $15,000 per month in aggregate 

fees for Depth-of-Book Data. The fee 

shall be $5,000 per month per Trading 

Platform up to a maximum of three 

Trading Platforms. 

(e) [(d)] 30-Day Free-Trial Offer: 

NASDAQ shall offer all new individual 

Subscribers and potential new 

individual Subscribers a 30-day waiver 

of the Subscriber fees for NASDAQ 

TotalView. This waiver shall not 

include the incremental fees assessed 

for the NASDAQ Level 2-only service[, 

which are $30 for Professional 

Subscribers and $9 for Non-Professional 

Subscribers per month]. This fee waiver 

period shall be applied on a rolling 

basis, determined by the date on which 

a new individual Subscriber or potential 

individual Subscriber is first entitled by 

a Distributor to receive access to 

NASDAQ TotalView. A Distributor may 

only provide this waiver to a specific 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES