Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 48867 

18 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 19 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

representative of their typical usage of 

the new ports. Moreover, the proposed 

fees are in line with the fees assessed by 

other exchanges for the same or similar 

connectivity. 

The Exchange notes that it operates in 

a highly competitive market in which 

market participants can readily favor 

competing venues if they deem fee 

levels at a particular venue to be 

excessive, or rebate opportunities 

available at other venues to be more 

favorable. In such an environment, the 

Exchange must continually adjust its 

fees to remain competitive with other 

exchanges and with alternative trading 

systems that have been exempted from 

compliance with the statutory standards 

applicable to exchanges. Because 

competitors are free to modify their own 

fees in response, and because market 

participants may readily adjust their 

order routing practices, the Exchange 

believes that the degree to which fee 

changes in this market may impose any 

burden on competition is extremely 

limited. In sum, if the changes proposed 

herein are unattractive to market 

participants, it is likely that the 

Exchange will lose market share as a 

result. Accordingly, the Exchange does 

not believe that the proposed fee 

changes will impair the ability of 

members or competing order execution 

venues to maintain their competitive 

standing in the financial markets. 

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 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.18 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: (i) 

Necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest; (ii) for the protection of 

investors; or (iii) 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 

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– 

ISE–2017–87 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–ISE–2017–87. 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 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–ISE– 

2017–87 and should be submitted on or 

before November 13, 2017. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.19

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22757 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–81878; File No. SR–ISE– 

2017–88] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the Schedule 

of Fees To Increase the Crossing Fee 

Cap 

October 16, 2017. 

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 October 

2, 2017, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or 

‘‘Exchange’’) 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 Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Schedule of Fees to increase the 

Crossing Fee Cap for members that do 

not commit in advance to paying the 

full Crossing Fee Cap at the end of each 

month. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s Web site 

at www.ise.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. 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES
48868 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 

3A ‘‘Firm Proprietary’’ order is an order 

submitted by a member for its own proprietary 

account. 

4A ‘‘Non-Nasdaq ISE Market Maker’’ is a market 

maker as defined in Section 3(a)(38) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, 

registered in the same options class on another 

options exchange. 

5Crossing Orders are contracts that are submitted 

as part of a Facilitation, Solicitation, PIM, Block or 

QCC order. Fees charged by the Exchange for 

Responses to Crossing Orders are not included in 

the calculation of the monthly fee cap. Surcharge 

fees charged by the Exchange for licensed products 

and the fees for index options are not included in 

the calculation of the monthly fee cap. 

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

7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

8See NYSE American Options Fee Schedule, 

Section I. Options Transaction Fees and Credits, I. 

Firm Monthly Fee Cap; NYSE Arca Options Fees 

and Charges, NYSE Arca Options: Trade-Related 

Charges for Standard Options, Firm and Broker 

Dealer Monthly Fee Cap. 

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

10 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The purpose of the proposed rule 

change is to amend the Schedule of Fees 

to increase the Crossing Fee Cap for 

members that do not commit in advance 

to paying the full Crossing Fee Cap at 

the end of each month. Currently, the 

Exchange has a Crossing Fee Cap of 

$75,000 per month per member on all 

Firm Proprietary 3 and Non-Nasdaq ISE 

Market Maker 4 transactions that are part 

of the originating or contra side of a 

Crossing Order.5 Members that elect 

prior to the start of the month to pay 

$65,000 per month have these crossing 

fees capped at that level instead, 

regardless of actual trading volume. All 

eligible volume from affiliated Members 

is aggregated for purposes of the 

Crossing Fee Cap, provided there is at 

least 75% common ownership between 

the Members as reflected on each 

Member’s Form BD, Schedule A. The 

Exchange now proposes to increase the 

Crossing Fee Cap to $90,000 per month; 

provided, however, that members that 

commit in advance to paying the full 

Crossing Fee Cap at the end of each 

month will continue to have these fees 

capped at $65,000 per month. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,6 in general, and furthers the 

objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) 

of the Act,7 in particular, in that it 

provides for the equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues, fees, and other charges 

among members and issuers and other 

persons using any facility, and is not 

designed to permit unfair 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Exchange believes that it is 

reasonable and equitable to increase the 

Crossing Fee Cap as the proposed 

Crossing Fee Cap is set at a level that the 

Exchange believes appropriately 

rewards members for executing a high 

volume of Crossing Orders on the 

Exchange. The proposed Crossing Fee 

Cap remains lower than similar fee caps 

available on other options exchanges, 

including NYSE American Options and 

NYSE Arca Options, which both have 

fee caps set at $100,000 per month, 

subject to the potential for reduced caps 

based on a member’s tier achieved.8 As 

proposed, members that do not elect to 

pay the discounted rate in full each 

month will be eligible to have their fees 

capped at the new rate of $90,000 per 

month. At the same time, members that 

commit to their Crossing Order fees in 

advance will continue to receive a 

discounted rate of $65,000 per month, 

which will encourage members to bring 

their Crossing Order flow to the 

Exchange. In particular, the Exchange 

believes that the proposed fee change 

may further incentivize members to 

commit to the discounted Crossing Fee 

Cap, and will bring more Crossing Order 

flow to the Exchange as a result. The 

Exchange believes that this will benefit 

all members and investors that trade on 

the Exchange as it will provide 

additional opportunities for market 

participants to interact with this 

Crossing Order Flow, contributing to a 

robust and competitive market. 

Furthermore, the Exchange believes that 

the proposed fee change is not unfairly 

discriminatory because all members will 

have the option to make the required 

commitment in order to qualify for the 

discounted Crossing Fee Cap, or will be 

subject to the Crossing Fee Cap 

proposed here. The Crossing Fee Cap 

will be uniformly applied to members 

based on their election. 

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. Although the 

Exchange is increasing the Crossing Fee 

Cap, the Exchange believes that the 

proposed cap is set at an appropriate 

level. Moreover, any member that 

wishes to lower their fees can continue 

to prepay the Crossing Fee Cap, and 

thereby qualify for a discounted fee. The 

Exchange operates in a highly 

competitive market in which market 

participants can readily direct their 

order flow to competing venues. In such 

an environment, the Exchange must 

continually review, and consider 

adjusting, its fees and rebates to remain 

competitive with other exchanges. For 

the reasons described above, the 

Exchange believes that the proposed fee 

changes reflect this competitive 

environment. 

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 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 

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

4(f)(2) 10 thereunder. 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: (i) Necessary or appropriate in 

the public interest; (ii) for the protection 

of investors; or (iii) 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 

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– 

ISE–2017–88 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–ISE–2017–88. 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 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 48869 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3SQF is an interface that allows market makers 

to connect and send quotes, sweeps and auction 

responses into the Exchange. Data includes the 

following: (1) Options Auction Notifications (e.g., 

opening imbalance, Flash, PIM, Solicitation and 

Facilitation or other information); (2) Options 

Symbol Directory Messages; (3) System Event 

Messages (e.g., start of messages, start of system 

hours, start of quoting, start of opening); (4) Option 

Trading Action Messages (e.g., halts, resumes); (5) 

Execution Messages; (6) Quote Messages (quote/ 

sweep messages, risk protection triggers or purge 

notifications). 

4SQF Purge is a specific port for the SQF 

interface that only receives and notifies of purge 

requests from the market maker. 

5The term ‘‘Market Makers’’ refers to 

‘‘Competitive Market Makers’’ and ‘‘Primary Market 

Makers’’ collectively. See GEMX Rule 100(a)(25). 

6SQF is an interface that allows market makers 

to connect and send quotes, sweeps and auction 

responses into the Exchange. Data includes the 

following: (1) Options Auction Notifications (e.g., 

opening imbalance, Flash, PIM, Solicitation and 

Facilitation or other information); (2) Options 

Symbol Directory Messages; (3) System Event 

Messages (e.g., start of messages, start of system 

hours, start of quoting, start of opening); (4) Option 

Trading Action Messages (e.g., halts, resumes); (5) 

Execution Messages; (6) Quote Messages (quote/ 

sweep messages, risk protection triggers or purge 

notifications). 

7SQF Purge is a specific port for the SQF 

interface that only receives and notifies of purge 

requests from the market maker. 

8The term ‘‘Market Makers’’ refers to 

‘‘Competitive Market Makers’’ and ‘‘Primary Market 

Makers’’ collectively. See GEMX Rule 100(a)(25). 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

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 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–ISE– 

2017–88 and should be submitted on or 

before November 13, 2017. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22753 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–81881; File No. SR–GEMX– 

2017–44] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

GEMX, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Its Schedule of 

Fees To Increase the Monthly Cap on 

the Fees Assessed for Specialized 

Quote Feed and SQF Purge Ports That 

Market Makers Utilize To Connect to 

the Exchange 

October 16, 2017. 

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 October 

2, 2017, Nasdaq GEMX, LLC (‘‘GEMX’’ 

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 amend its 

Schedule of Fees to increase the 

monthly cap on the fees assessed for 

Specialized Quote Feed (‘‘SQF’’) 3 and 

SQF Purge 4 Ports that Market Makers 5

utilize to connect to the Exchange. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s Web site 

at www.ise.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 is proposing to amend 

its Schedule of Fees to increase the 

monthly cap on the fees assessed for 

Specialized Quote Feed (‘‘SQF’’) 6 and 

SQF Purge 7 Ports that Market Makers 8

utilize to connect to the Exchange. 

Currently, the Exchange charges 

monthly SQF and SQF Purge Port Fees 

of $1,250 per port, and caps these fees 

for Market Makers utilizing these ports 

at $12,500 per month (‘‘SQF Fee Cap’’). 

The Exchange now proposes to increase 

the SQF Fee Cap from $12,500 to 

$17,500. The monthly $1,250 per port 

fees for SQF and SQF Purge Ports will 

remain unchanged. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,9 in general, and furthers the 

objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) 

of the Act,10 in particular, in that it 

provides for the equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues, fees, and other charges 

among members and issuers and other 

persons using any facility, and is not 

designed to permit unfair 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Exchange believes that increasing 

the SQF Fee Cap from $12,500 to 

$17,500 is reasonable because it better 

aligns the fees collected from Market 

Makers utilizing the SQF and SQF Purge 

Ports with the costs associated with 

maintaining and supporting the ports, as 

well as the initial investment in such 

ports for the Exchange. The Exchange 

also believes that the proposed increase 

of the SQF Fee Cap is reasonable 

because it will allow the Exchange to 

recoup costs while continuing to cap 

infrastructure costs for Market Makers 

that subscribe to a large number of ports 

due to their larger market making 

footprint on the Exchange. Without such 

a cap, Market Makers may be inhibited 

from expanding their activity on the 

Exchange. As a general principal, the 

Exchange believes that greater 

participation on the Exchange by 

members improves market quality for all 

market participants. Thus, in arriving at 

a fee cap of $17,500, the Exchange 

balanced the desire to improve market 

quality against the need to cover costs 

and make a profit. Lastly, the Exchange 

notes that its affiliate, Nasdaq Phlx 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES