Document ID: SEC-2020-0189-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Self-Regulatory Organizations; Proposed Rule Changes: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
Posted Date: 2020-02-12T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8079-8083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02746]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-88135; File No. SR-FINRA-2020-004]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a 
Proposed Rule Change To Eliminate Transaction Credits and Trade 
Reporting Fees Applicable to Retail Participants That Use the FINRA/
Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility

February 6, 2020.
    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 February 3, 2020, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 
(``FINRA'') 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 FINRA. FINRA has 
designated the proposed rule change as ``establishing or changing a 
due, fee or other charge'' under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \3\ 
and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposal 
effective upon receipt of this filing by the Commission. The Commission 
is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule 
change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    FINRA is proposing to amend FINRA Rules 7610A and 7620A to 
eliminate transaction credits and trade reporting fees applicable to 
Retail Participants that use the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility 
Carteret (the ``FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret'') and the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade 
Reporting Facility Chicago (the ``FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Chicago'') 
(collectively, the ``FINRA/Nasdaq TRF'').
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on FINRA's 
website at http://www.finra.org, at the principal office of FINRA 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, FINRA 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. FINRA 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 FINRA/Nasdaq TRF is a facility of FINRA that is operated by 
Nasdaq, Inc. (``Nasdaq''). In connection with the establishment of the 
FINRA/Nasdaq TRF, FINRA and Nasdaq entered into a limited liability 
company agreement (the ``LLC Agreement''). Under the LLC Agreement, 
FINRA, the ``SRO Member,'' has sole regulatory responsibility for the 
FINRA/Nasdaq TRF. Nasdaq, the ``Business Member,'' is primarily 
responsible for the management of the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF's business 
affairs, including establishing pricing for use of the FINRA/Nasdaq 
TRF, to the extent those affairs are not inconsistent with the 
regulatory and oversight functions of FINRA. Additionally, the Business 
Member is obligated to pay the cost of regulation and is entitled to 
the profits and losses, if any, derived from the operation of the 
FINRA/Nasdaq TRF.
    Pursuant to the FINRA Rule 7600A Series, FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 
participants are charged fees and may qualify for fee caps (Rule 
7620A), and also may qualify for revenue sharing payments for trade 
reporting to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF (Rule 7610A). These rules are 
administered by Nasdaq, in its capacity as the Business Member and 
operator of the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF on behalf of FINRA,\5\ and Nasdaq 
collects all fees on behalf of the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF.
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    \5\ FINRA's oversight of this function performed by the Business 
Member is conducted through a recurring assessment and review of TRF 
operations by an outside independent audit firm.
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    Pursuant to FINRA Rule 7620A, FINRA/Nasdaq TRF has a special 
pricing program, known as the ``Retail Participant Program'' \6\ for 
which a

[[Page 8080]]

FINRA/Nasdaq TRF participant may qualify as a ``Retail Participant'' if 
``substantially all of its trade reporting activity on the FINRA/Nasdaq 
Trade Reporting Facility comprises Retail Orders.'' \7\ Under Rule 
7620A, TRF Retail Participants are assessed fees for each of their 
Media/Executing Party, Non-Media/Executing Party, Media/Contra Party, 
and Non-Media/Contra Party activities on the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF. However, 
they may qualify for fee discounts and fee caps (Rule 7620A), and for 
securities transaction credits for trade reporting to the FINRA/Nasdaq 
TRF (Rule 7610A). Specifically, the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF offers two Retail 
Fee Discount Programs--one comprises volume-based discounts for Media/
Contra Party and Non-Media/Contra Party activity and the other program 
is a combined fee cap for Retail Participants that engage in Media/
Executing Party and Contra Party activity on the FINRA/Nasdaq TRFs.
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    \6\ To qualify as a ``Retail Participant'' and for special 
pricing under the Retail Participant fee schedule, a participant 
must complete and submit to Nasdaq, as the Business Member, an 
application. The application form requires the participant to attest 
to its qualifications as a Retail Participant on the FINRA/Nasdaq 
TRF in which it is a participant and for which it seeks Retail 
Participant pricing. The participant must also attest to its 
reasonable expectation that it will maintain its qualifications for 
a one year period following the date of attestation. Once a 
participant has been designated as a Retail Participant, it must 
complete and submit a written attestation to Nasdaq on an annual 
basis to retain its status as such. A Retail Participant must inform 
Nasdaq promptly if at any time it ceases to qualify or it reasonably 
expects that it will cease to qualify as a Retail Participant. See 
FINRA Rule 7620A.03.
    \7\ Pursuant to FINRA Rule 7260A.01, a ``Retail Order'' means 
``an order that originates from a natural person, provided that, 
prior to submission, no change is made to the terms of the order 
with respect to price or side of market and the order does not 
originate from a trading algorithm or any other computerized 
methodology.''
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    A Retail Participant qualifies for the Retail Participant Contra 
Party Fee Discount and Cap Program to the extent that it achieves, 
during a given month, a qualifying volume of average daily Contra Party 
activity (Media, Non-Media, or both) in a particular Tape. Within each 
Tape, a qualifying Retail Participant will receive a volume-based 
discount on its monthly uncapped Contra Party activity charges relative 
to the standard rate ($0.013 per execution), which includes both Media/
Contra Party and Non-Media/Contra Party activity, as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Maximum
                                                              Average daily          Rate per         monthly
                          Tier                            executions per  month   execution,  if    charge,  if
                                                                 per tier            uncapped         capped
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                                                     Tape A
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1......................................................           50,000-100,000         $0.0120             n/a
2......................................................          100,001-200,000          0.0072             n/a
3......................................................          200,001-300,000          0.0052             n/a
4......................................................                 >300,000          0.0050         $32,000
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                                                     Tape B
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1......................................................            15,000-30,000         $0.0120             n/a
2......................................................            30,001-60,000          0.0072             n/a
3......................................................           60,001-100,000          0.0052             n/a
4......................................................                 >100,000          0.0050         $11,000
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                                                     Tape C
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1......................................................           50,000-100,000         $0.0120             n/a
2......................................................          100,001-200,000          0.0072             n/a
3......................................................          200,001-300,000          0.0052             n/a
4......................................................                 >300,000          0.0050         $32,000
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    A Retail Participant qualifies for the Retail Participant Combined 
Cap Program, when the Retail Participants engages in Media/Executing 
Party activity in addition to Contra Party activity on the FINRA/Nasdaq 
TRF, as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Total daily         Maximum
                                      average  number of      monthly
                                       media/ executing     charge, for
                Tier                  party trades  over  all  executing
                                       preceding  three     party/contra
                                        month  period)    party activity
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1...................................         1,000-2,000         $50,000
2...................................         2,001-4,000          25,000
3...................................              >4,000          15,000
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    Retail Participants are assessed the lowest retail pricing program 
each month based on their qualifying activity.
    In addition, under Rule 7620A, Retail Participants are subject to 
Comparison/Accept Fees (for transactions subject to the ACT Comparison 
process) at the rate of $0.0144/side per 100 shares (minimum 400 
shares; maximum 7,500 shares). They are also subject to a $0.03/side 
fee for clearing reports (to transfer a transaction fee charged by one 
member to another member), a $0.288/

[[Page 8081]]

trade fee for late reports, a $0.50/query fee for submitting queries, 
and a $0.25 fee for making corrections to transactions (cancel, errors, 
inhibit, kill, break, and decline).
    Currently, under Rule 7610A, FINRA members that report over-the-
counter (``OTC'') transactions in NMS stocks to a FINRA/Nasdaq TRF for 
public dissemination or ``media'' purposes may receive quarterly 
transaction credits that equal a percentage of FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 
revenues that are attributable to the members' transactions.\8\ A 
Retail Participant qualifies for transaction credits with no market 
share thresholds in order to make revenue share payout more accessible 
and to lower the overall trade reporting cost for a Retail Participant. 
The FINRA/Nasdaq TRF offers Retail Participants that achieve less than 
0.5 percent Media/Executing Party market share in Tape A or C symbols a 
75 percent payout of attributable transaction credits, and a 70 percent 
payout of attributable revenue in Tape B symbols for less than 0.35 
percent Media/Executing Party market share during a given quarter. For 
higher market shares, Retail Participants receive the same percentage 
shares of attributable revenue as other participants in all Tapes.
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    \8\ Under the Rule, a transaction is attributable to a FINRA 
member if a trade report submitted to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF that the 
FINRA/Nasdaq TRF then submits to either of the SIPs identifies the 
FINRA member as the Executing Party on the transaction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Percent of
                                            Percent of     attributable
                                           attributable       revenue
         Percentage market share              revenue         shared
                                              shared          (retail
                                                           rarticipants)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tape A:
    Greater than or equal to 2%.........              98              98
    Less than 2% but greater than or                  95              95
     equal to 1%........................
    Less than 1% but greater than or                  85              85
     equal to 0.50%.....................
    Less than 0.50% but greater than or               20              75
     equal to 0.10%.....................
    Less than 0.10%.....................               0              75
Tape B:
    Greater than or equal to 2%.........              98              98
    Less than 2% but greater than or                  90              90
     equal to 1%........................
    Less than 1% but greater than or                  85              85
     equal to 0.35%.....................
    Less than 0.35% but greater than or               10              70
     equal to 0.10%.....................
    Less than 0.10%.....................               0              70
Tape C:
    Greater than or equal to 2%.........              98             98%
    Less than 2% but greater than or                  95              95
     equal to 1%........................
    Less than 1% but greater than or                  85              85
     equal to 0.50%.....................
    Less than 0.50% but greater than or               20              75
     equal to 0.10%.....................
    Less than 0.10%.....................               0              75
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Proposed New Pricing for Retail Participants
    Nasdaq, as the Business Member, proposes to charge no fees for 
trade reporting to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF for Retail Participants. 
Specifically, Nasdaq proposes to eliminate the schedule of Retail 
Participant transaction charges in Rule 7620A, as well as the 
associated Retail Participant Contra Party Fee Discount and Cap and the 
Combined Cap Programs. Nasdaq also proposes to exempt Retail 
Participants from the schedule of generally applicable transaction 
charges, both for Non-Comparison/Accept and Comparison/Accept trade 
reports and for other fees relating to clearing reports to transfer 
transaction fees, late reports, queries, and corrective actions. Along 
with charging no trade reporting fees to Retail Participants, Nasdaq 
proposes to eliminate transaction credits for Retail Participants.
    The proposed rule change is intended to improve the competitiveness 
of the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF for Retail Participants in light of recent 
initiatives by retail brokers to eliminate the fees they charge for 
executing retail customer transactions. As reported in the media, many 
large retail brokers, such as Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, E-Trade 
Securities, Interactive Brokers and Fidelity, have lowered commission 
trading fees to zero.\9\ Nasdaq understands that these initiatives are 
placing pressure on retail brokers to find ways to reduce their 
operational costs as a means of offsetting their loss of retail trading 
commission revenues. Nasdaq believes that its proposal would support 
these efforts and attract Retail Participants to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF.
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    \9\ See Kate Rooney, ``Battle for Zero Trading Fees Threatens 
Robinhood's Business Model and Next Leg of Growth,'' CNBC, Oct. 4, 
2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/battle-for-zero-trading-fees-pressures-robinhoods-next-leg-of-growth.html.
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    Currently, FINRA/Nasdaq TRF has 63 participants designated as 
``Retail Participants.'' From January 2019 to September 2019, these 
Retail Participants have incurred trade reporting fees that range from 
nearly $0 to $50,000 per month per firm. Under the proposed rule 
change, these Retail Participants will pay no fees going forward for 
their trade reporting activities. Meanwhile, during the same time 
period, Retail Participants with Media/Executing Party activity 
received securities transaction credits that ranged from $0 to $10,000 
per quarter. Under the proposed rule change, Retail Participants will 
no longer be eligible for transaction credits.
    No new product or service will accompany the proposed fee change.
    FINRA has filed the proposed rule change for immediate 
effectiveness. The operative date will be February 3, 2020.
2. Statutory Basis
    FINRA believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the 
provisions of Section 15A(b)(5) of the Act,\10\ which requires, among 
other things, that FINRA rules provide for the equitable allocation of 
reasonable dues, fees and other charges among members and issuers and 
other persons using any facility or system that FINRA operates or 
controls. All similarly situated designated Retail Participants will be 
subject to the same fee and credit

[[Page 8082]]

structure and access to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF is offered on fair and 
nondiscriminatory terms.
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    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(5).
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The Proposal Is Reasonable
    Nasdaq, as the Business Member, believes the proposal to eliminate 
trade reporting fees under Rule 7620A and transaction credits under 
Rule 7610A for Retail Participants is reasonable in several respects. 
As a threshold matter, the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF is subject to significant 
competitive forces in the market for trade reporting services for OTC 
trades in NMS stocks that constrain its pricing determinations in that 
market. Participants can freely and do shift their trade reporting 
activity between the various FINRA TRFs in response to pricing, product 
or service changes. Within this context, as well as the context 
discussed earlier in which several large Retail Participants have 
eliminated the fees that they previously charged to their retail 
customers to execute trades, the proposed rule change demonstrates that 
the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF is sensitive to Retail Participants' changing 
business models and their need to control operational costs. Nasdaq 
believes that the proposal is a reasonable means of strengthening the 
ability of the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF to compete for the trade reporting 
activity of retail firms given that the proposal will improve its 
attractiveness relative to that of the competing FINRA TRF.
The Proposal Is an Equitable Allocation of Credits and Charges
    The proposed rule change will allocate fees and credits fairly 
among FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Participants. The proposal to offer free trade 
reporting for Retail Participants is an extension of the existing 
Retail Participant pricing program, through which the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 
charges Retail Participants lower fees than Non-Retail 
Participants.\11\ As discussed in FINRA's filing in 2018, it is 
equitable to charge Retail Participants lower fees because customers of 
Retail Participants generally include individuals who trade less 
frequently and report fewer trades to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF than do 
other categories of customers. The Retail Pricing program was designed 
to ensure that such customers, and the participants that serve them, do 
not bear primary financial responsibility for helping the FINRA/Nasdaq 
TRF to recover rising costs, particularly increased operational and 
maintenance costs flowing from rising levels of trade reporting 
activity.\12\ The current proposal is equitable because it will help 
Retail Participants to further reduce their operating costs, which they 
are under pressure to do as they eliminate their own retail customer 
trade commissions. Nasdaq notes that even as it proposes to eliminate 
trade reporting fees for Retail Participants, such Retail Participant 
activity will continue to contribute to operating the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 
insofar as the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF will continue to receive a share of the 
SIP transaction credits generated through retail trade reporting 
activity that occurs on the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF.\13\
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    \11\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83866 (August 16, 
2018), 83 FR 42545 (August 22, 2018) (Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of File No. SR-FINRA-2018-029).
    \12\ See supra note 11, at 42449-50.
    \13\ Nasdaq has separately provided data to the Commission in 
support of this assertion, pursuant to a request for confidential 
treatment under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
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    In addition to eliminating trade reporting fees for Retail 
Participants, Nasdaq also believes that it is equitable to eliminate 
the corresponding transaction credits for Retail Participants. The 
FINRA/Nasdaq TRF offers transaction credits to reward significant 
activity on the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF and offset trade reporting fees. To 
the extent that Retail Participants would no longer pay fees for 
reporting trades to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF, the continuing payment of 
such credits would serve no purpose as there would be no fees to 
offset.
The Proposal Is Not Unfairly Discriminatory
    Although Nasdaq intends for this proposal to benefit Retail 
Participants specifically, Nasdaq does not believe that it is unfair to 
do so. The Commission already permits the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF to apply 
lower pricing to Retail Participants.\14\ The proposed rule change is 
merely an extension of this existing pricing program.
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    \14\ See supra note 11.
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    Moreover, any financial benefit that the proposal offers to Retail 
Participants will be limited in scope because the amount of the fees 
that Retail Participants pay for their reporting is already small, and 
the total amount of fees paid by Retail Participants is trivial 
relative to the total amount of fees that Non-Retail Participants 
pay.\15\ Additionally, Nasdaq notes that the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF does not 
propose to adjust any of the Non-Retail Participant trade reporting 
fees to offset the loss of Retail Participant trade reporting fees.
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    \15\ Nasdaq has separately provided data to the Commission in 
support of these assertions, pursuant to a request for confidential 
treatment under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
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    Relatedly, Nasdaq notes that even as it proposes to eliminate trade 
reporting fees for Retail Participants, such Retail Participant 
activity will continue to contribute to operating the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 
insofar as the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF will continue to receive a share of the 
SIP transaction credits generated through retail trade reporting 
activity that occurs on the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF.\16\ Accordingly, the 
proposal will not require Non-Retail Participants to assume a larger 
role in supporting the operation of the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF.
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    \16\ Nasdaq has separately provided data to the Commission in 
support of this assertion, pursuant to a request for confidential 
treatment under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    FINRA does not believe that the proposed rule changes will result 
in any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
Intramarket Competition
    Nasdaq, as the Business Member, does not believe that the proposed 
rule change will place any category of Participant at a competitive 
disadvantage. As discussed above, all Retail Participants, whether they 
are large or small, and regardless of whether they report a large or 
small volume of trade reports to the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF, will incur no 
fees for their trade reporting activity on the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF. 
Participants are free to report their over-the-counter trades in NMS 
stocks to the competing FINRA TRF to the extent they believe that the 
fees, product or services provided by the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF are not 
attractive. Price competition between the FINRA TRFs is substantial, 
with trade reporting activity and market share moving freely between 
them in reaction to fee, product and service changes.
    Lastly, Nasdaq notes that Retail Participants and Non-Retail 
Participants do not typically compete for the same business, such that 
Nasdaq does not expect the proposal to create a competitive advantage 
for Retail Participants relative to Non-Retail Participants.
Intermarket Competition
    Nasdaq believes that the proposal will not impose a burden on 
competition among the FINRA trade reporting facilities because use of 
the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF is completely voluntary

[[Page 8083]]

and subject to competition.\17\ Nasdaq, as the Business Member, 
proposes this rule change to strengthen the competitive position of the 
FINRA/Nasdaq TRF with respect to retail trade reporting. Nasdaq 
believes its proposal will support increased competition in the market.
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    \17\ Because the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF and the FINRA/NYSE TRF are 
operated by different business members competing for market share, 
FINRA does not take a position on whether the pricing for one TRF is 
more favorable or competitive than the pricing for the other TRF.
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    Nasdaq, as the Business Member, believes that the elimination of 
trade reporting fees for Retail Participants will be necessary for the 
FINRA/Nasdaq TRF to retain existing retail business and to compete for 
new such business, particularly in light of recent moves by large 
retail brokers to eliminate their own retail transaction fees and to 
reduce their operating costs accordingly. The competition, in turn, is 
free to modify its own fees and credits in response to this proposed 
rule change to maintain or increase its attractiveness to participants. 
Accordingly, Nasdaq believes that the risk that this proposed rule 
change will impose an undue burden on intermarket competition is 
extremely limited.
    If market participants determine that the changes proposed herein 
are inadequate or unattractive, it is likely that the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF 
will lose market share as a result. Accordingly, the proposed rule 
change will not impair the ability of the other FINRA TRF to maintain 
its competitive standing.

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) of the Act \18\ and paragraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder.\19\ 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 shall institute 
proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule should be approved 
or disapproved.
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    \18\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \19\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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-FINRA-2020-004 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-FINRA-2020-004. 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 website (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 website 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 filing also will be available for inspection 
and copying at the principal office of FINRA. All comments received 
will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are 
cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying 
information from comment submissions. You should submit only 
information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions 
should refer to File Number SR-FINRA-2020-004 and should be submitted 
on or before March 4, 2020.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\20\
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    \20\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-02746 Filed 2-11-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P