[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58462-58464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23969]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-62946; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2010-83]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
of a Proposed Rule Change Amending NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.23 To
Adopt Pricing Obligations for ETP Holders Who Are Registered as Market
Makers
September 20, 2010.
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 September 17, 2010, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca'' or the
``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.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.23 to
adopt pricing obligations for ETP Holders who are registered as Market
Makers. The text of the proposed rule change is available at the
Exchange, the Commission's Public Reference Room, and http://www.nyse.com.
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, of the most
significant parts 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 proposes to amend NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.23 to
adopt pricing obligations for Market Makers. Under the proposal, the
Exchange will require Market Makers to continuously maintain two-sided
Q Order trading interest within a Designated Percentage \3\ from the
National Best Bid and National Best Offer (``NBBO'') for each security
in which they are registered. These pricing obligations are intended to
eliminate trade executions against Market Maker placeholder Q Orders
traditionally priced far away from the inside market, commonly known as
``stub quotes.'' They are also intended to augment and work in
conjunction with Trading Pauses in individual securities due to
extraordinary market volatility, which are already in place on a pilot
basis for stocks in the S&P 500[reg] Index and the Russell 1000[reg]
Index, under Exchange Rule 7.11.\4\
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\3\ The term Designated Percentage is defined in proposed Rule
7.23(a)(1)(B)(iii).
\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 62252 (June 10,
2010), 75 FR 34186 (June 16, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-41). See also
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 62884 (September 10, 2010), 75
FR 56618 (September 16, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-61). See also Rule
7.11.
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[[Page 58463]]
Under the proposal, the Exchange will require Market Makers to
enter and maintain Q Orders priced no more than the Designated
Percentage away from the NBBO. Permissible Q Orders are determined by
the individual character of the security, the time of day in which the
Q Order is entered, and other factors which are summarized below.
For purposes of the proposed rule, Designated Percentage shall mean
the Threshold Move as defined under Rule 7.11 less two (2) percentage
points. Because the Threshold Move across all exchanges is currently
10%, a Market Maker's Q Order in a security may not be more than 8%
away from NBBO. Once a permissible Q Order is entered, it may rest
without adjustment until such time as it is more than the Defined Limit
away from the NBBO. For purposes of the proposed rule, the Designated
Limit shall mean the Threshold Move as defined under Rule 7.11 less
one-half percentage point (i.e., 9.5%). If the Market Maker's resting
interest exceeds the Defined Limit, the Market Maker must enter new
interest at a price not more than the Designated Percentage of 8% away
from the NBBO (or identify to the Corporation current resting interest
that satisfies the Market Maker's obligation). For times during the
trading day when a Trading Pause is not in effect under Rule 7.11
(e.g., before 6:45 a.m. and after 12:35 p.m. Pacific Time), the
Designated Percentage calculation will assume a trigger percentage of
22%. Therefore, a Market Maker must maintain a Q Order no further than
20% away from the NBBO and the Q Order may rest without adjustment
until it is more than 21.5% from the NBBO. In the absence of an NBBO,
the above calculations will remain the same, but will use the last
reported sale from the single plan processor responsible for
consolidation of information for the security pursuant to Rule 603 of
Regulation NMS.\5\
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\5\ 17 CFR 240.603.
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For securities that are not subject to Trading Pauses, the
Designated Percentage will assume a trigger percentage of 32% and apply
the same 2% reduction. Thus, Market Makers registered in those
securities shall be required to maintain Q Order interest no more than
30% away from NBBO. As with securities subject to Trading Pauses, once
a permissible Q Order is entered it may rest without adjustment until
such time as it becomes more than the Defined Limit away from the NBBO
(31.5%), whereupon the Market Maker must enter new interest at a price
not more than the Designated Percentage of 30% away from the NBBO (or
identify to the Corporation current resting interest that satisfies the
Market Maker's obligation). The Exchange proposes that these
requirements shall apply to NMS stocks (as defined in Rule 600 under
Regulation NMS) \6\ during the trading day.
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\6\ 17 CFR 240.600.
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Nothing in the proposal shall preclude a Market Maker from entering
Q Order interest at price levels that are closer to the NBBO than the
levels required under the proposal.
The Exchange also proposes to amend Rule 7.31 (Orders and
Modifiers) with regards to Q Orders. A Q Order is a limit order
submitted to the NYSE Arca Marketplace by a Market Maker, and
designated by a Market Maker as a ``Q Order'' through such means as the
Corporation shall specify.\7\ Market Makers utilize Q Orders to satisfy
their obligation to maintain continuous, two-sided interest in
securities in which they are registered to trade. The proposed
amendment to Rule 7.23 requires that the ``standard Q,'' which is
currently defined as having a price of $0.01 bid and 2 times the
previous day's close for the offer, be eliminated as an available order
type.\8\ The Exchange proposes to reserve this subsection for possible
future use.\9\
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\7\ See Rule 7.31(k)(1).
\8\ See Rule 7.31(k)(1)(A)(3).
\9\ The Exchange represents that within 90 days from the date of
this filing it will submit a proposed rule change with the
Commission to either remove the text of Rule 7.31(k)(1)(A)(4), which
states that a ``Q Order entered with reserve size * * * will
automatically repost with the original display size and $10 below
the original bid or $10 above the original offer, but never below
$0.01,'' or amend such text so that a Q Order entered with reserve
size will repost with a price consistent with the Designated
Percentage proposed herein.
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The Exchange also proposes to include language at the end of Rule
7.31(k) stating that ``nothing in [the] Rule shall be construed to
relieve a Market Maker of any of its obligations pursuant to Rule
7.23.'' The Exchange believes that the addition of this rule text will
make clear that, while certain Q Orders may be submitted and/or repost
with prices that are beyond the Designated Percentages and Defined
Limits, respectively, proposed in Rule 7.23, Market Makers shall remain
obligated to satisfy their Two-Sided Obligation, as proposed in Rule
7.23(a)(1).
The Exchange also proposes to make certain non-substantive
stylistic changes to Rule 7.23(a)(2)-(a)(5). These proposed changes do
not alter the substance or form of the existing rule text.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act''),\10\ in
general, and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,\11\
in particular, in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, 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. The Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change also is consistent with the
principles of Section 11A(a)(1) \12\ of the Act in that it seeks to
assure fair competition among brokers and dealers and among exchange
markets. The Exchange believes the proposed rule change meets these
requirements in that it promotes transparency and uniformity concerning
pricing obligations across markets for certain market participants.
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\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
\12\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1(a)(1).
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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.
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
Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date 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 such 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
[[Page 58464]]
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 e-mail to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2010-83 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, Station Place, 100 F
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2010-83. This
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail 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 inspection
and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street,
NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours
of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such 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 publicly available. All
submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2010-83 and should
be submitted on or before October 15, 2010.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\13\
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\13\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-23969 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P