Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend its Fees Schedule

Citation86 FR 21363
Record Number2021-08309
Published date22 April 2021
SectionNotices
CourtSecurities And Exchange Commission
21363
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 76 / Thursday, April 22, 2021 / Notices
1
15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2
15 U.S.C. 78a.
3
17 CFR 240.19b–4.
4
The Exchange initially filed the proposed fee
changes April 1, 2021 (SR–CboeBYX–2021–007).
On April 12, 2021, the Exchange withdrew that
filing and submitted this proposal.
5
See Cboe Global Markets, U.S. Equities Market
Volume Summary, Month-to-Date (March 30, 2021),
available at https://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/
market_statistics/.
6
Orders yielding Fee Code ‘‘N’’ are orders
removing liquidity from BYX (Tape C).
7
Orders yielding Fee Code ‘‘W’’ are orders
removing liquidity from BYX (Tape A).
8
Orders yielding Fee Code ‘‘BB’’ are orders
removing liquidity from BYX (Tape B).
9
E.g., the Nasdaq BX offers rebates ranging from
$0.0009 to $0.0018 to firms reaching certain adding
and removing liquidity volume thresholds;
however, it charges a fee of $0.0007 to firms
removing liquidity that do not reach the adding and
removing volume thresholds. See http://
nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=PriceList
Trading2.
Additional Information or Comments:
To request more information or to
obtain a copy of the information
collection justification, forms, and/or
supporting material, contact Kennisha
Tucker at (312) 469–2591 or
Kennisha.Tucker@rrb.gov. Comments
regarding the information collection
should be addressed to Brian Foster,
Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North
Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611–
1275 or emailed to Brian.Foster@rrb.gov.
Written comments should be received
within 60 days of this notice.
Brian D. Foster,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–08300 Filed 4–21–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–91593; File No. SR–
CboeBYX–2021–010]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe
BYX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of a
Proposed Rule Change To Amend its
Fees Schedule
April 16, 2021.
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 April 12,
2021, Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BYX’’) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(the ‘‘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
Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BYX’’ or ‘‘BYX
Equities’’) is filing with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change
to amend its Fee Schedule. The text of
the proposed rule change is provided in
Exhibit 5.
The text of the proposed rule change
is also available on the Exchange’s
website (http://markets.cboe.com/us/
equities/regulation/rule_filings/byx/), at
the Exchange’s Office of the Secretary,
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 proposes to amend its
Fee Schedule to decrease the standard
liquidity removing rebate and eliminate
the Step-Up Tiers provided under
footnote 2. The Exchange proposes to
implement the proposed change to its
Fee Schedule on April 1, 2021.
4
The Exchange first notes that it
operates in a highly competitive market
in which market participants can
readily direct order flow to competing
venues if they deem fee levels at a
particular venue to be excessive or
incentives to be insufficient. More
specifically, the Exchange is only one of
16 registered equities exchanges, as well
as a number of alternative trading
systems and other off-exchange venues
that do not have similar self-regulatory
responsibilities under the Exchange Act,
to which market participants may direct
their order flow. Based on publicly
available information, no single
registered equities exchange has more
than 16% of the market share.
5
Thus, in
such a low-concentrated and highly
competitive market, no single equities
exchange possesses significant pricing
power in the execution of order flow.
The Exchange in particular operates a
‘‘Taker-Maker’’ model whereby it pays
credits to members that remove
liquidity and assesses fees to those that
add liquidity. The Exchange’s Fees
Schedule sets forth the standard rebates
and rates applied per share for orders
that remove and provide liquidity,
respectively. Particularly, for securities
at or above $1.00, the Exchange
provides a standard rebate of $0.00050
per share for orders that remove
liquidity and assesses a fee of $0.00200
per share for orders that add liquidity.
For orders priced below $1.00, the
Exchange does not assess a fee or
provide a rebate for orders that add
liquidity and assesses a fee of 0.10% of
total dollar value for orders that remove
liquidity. The Exchange believes that
the ever-shifting market share among
the exchanges from month to month
demonstrates that market participants
can shift order flow or discontinue to
reduce use of certain categories of
products, in response to fee changes.
Accordingly, competitive forces
constrain the Exchange’s transaction
fees, and market participants can readily
trade on competing venues if they deem
pricing levels at those other venues to
be more favorable.
As stated above, the Exchange
currently provides a standard rebate of
$0.00050 per share for liquidity
removing orders (i.e., those yielding fee
codes N,
6
W,
7
and BB
8
) in securities
priced at or above $1.00. Orders in
securities priced below $1.00 that
remove liquidity are assessed a fee of
0.10% of the total dollar value. The
Exchange now proposes to decrease the
current standard rebate of $0.00050 per
share to $0.00020 per share for orders
that remove liquidity for securities
priced at or above $1.00. Orders that
remove liquidity in securities priced
below $1.00 would continue to be
assessed a fee of 0.10% of the total
dollar value. Although this proposed
standard rebate for liquidity removing
orders is lower than the current base
rate for such orders, other taker-maker
exchanges charge a fee for firms
removing liquidity that do not meet
certain volume thresholds.
9
The tiered pricing models set forth in
footnote 2 of the Fee Schedule (Step-Up
Tiers) provide Members an opportunity
to qualify for a reduced fee on their
orders that add liquidity where they
increase their relative liquidity each
month over a predetermined baseline.
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21364
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 76 / Thursday, April 22, 2021 / Notices
10
‘‘Step-Up Add TCV’’ means ADAV as a
percentage of TCV in the relevant baseline month
subtracted from current ADAV as a percentage of
TCV.
11
Orders yielding Fee Code ‘‘B’’ are orders adding
liquidity to BYX (Tape B).
12
Orders yielding Fee Code ‘‘V’’ are orders
adding liquidity to BYX (Tape A).
13
Orders yielding Fee Code ‘‘Y’’ are orders
adding liquidity to BYX (Tape C).
14
15 U.S.C. 78f.
15
15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
16
Supra note 7[sic].
17
Supra note 3[sic].
18
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808
(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005).
19
NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525, 539 (D.C.
Cir. 2010) (quoting Securities Exchange Act Release
No. 59039 (December 2, 2008), 73 FR 74770, 74782–
83 (December 9, 2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2006–21)).
20
15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
21
17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).
Tier 1 of the Step-Up Tiers provides a
reduced fee of $0.0016 per share to a
Member that has a Step-Up Add TCV
10
from December 2019 equal to or greater
than 0.05%. The Exchange now
proposes to eliminate the Step-Up Tiers
and reserve footnote 2. The Exchange no
longer wishes to, nor is it required to,
maintain such a tier and therefore
proposes to eliminate the Step-Up Tier
from the Fee Schedule. Specifically, the
proposed rule change removes this tier
as the Exchange would rather redirect
resources and funding into other
programs and tiers intended to
incentivize increased order flow. As a
result of the proposed change, the
Exchange also proposes to eliminate
references to footnote 2 from fee codes
B,
11
V,
12
and Y.
13
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
the objectives of Section 6 of the Act,
14
in general, and furthers the objectives of
Section 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5),
15
in
particular, as it is designed to provide
for the equitable allocation of reasonable
dues, fees and other charges among its
Members, issuers and other persons
using its facilities. The Exchange
operates in a highly competitive market
in which market participants can
readily direct order flow to competing
venues if they deem fee levels at a
particular venue to be excessive or
incentives to be insufficient. The
proposed rule changes reflect a
competitive pricing structure designed
to incentivize market participants to
direct their order flow to the Exchange,
which the Exchange believes would
enhance market quality to the benefit of
all Members.
In particular, the Exchange believes
that the proposed amendment to reduce
the standard liquidity removing rebate
is reasonable, equitable and non-
discriminatory because the proposed
change represents a rebate decrease and
such rebates are equally applicable to
liquidity removing orders and thus are
also equally applicable to all Members
of the Exchange. Additionally, the
proposed rebate for liquidity removing
orders are still higher than rebates
offered at other exchanges for similar
transactions.
16
The Exchange also believes the
proposed amendment to remove the
Step-Up Tier is reasonable because no
Member has achieved this tier in several
months. Furthermore, the Exchange is
not required to maintain this tier and as
discussed, Members still have a number
of other opportunities and a variety of
ways to receive reduced fees, including
the including existing Tiers 1 through 5
of the Add/Remove Volume Tiers. The
Exchange believes the proposal to
eliminate the Step-Up Tier is also
equitable and not unfairly
discriminatory because it applies to all
Members.
As noted above, the Exchange
operates in a highly competitive market.
The Exchange is only one of 16 equity
venues to which market participants
may direct their order flow, and it
represents a small percentage of the
overall market. It is also only one of
several taker-maker exchanges.
Competing equity exchanges offer
similar rates and tiered pricing
structures to that of the Exchange,
including schedules of rebates and fees
that apply based upon members
achieving certain volume thresholds.
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 intramarket or
intermarket competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. Particularly,
the proposed changes apply to all
liquidity removing orders equally, and
thus apply to all Members equally.
Additionally, the Exchange believes the
proposed rule change does not impose
any burden on intermarket competition
that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purpose of the Act.
As previously discussed, the
Exchange operates in a highly
competitive market. Members have
numerous alternative venues that they
may participate on and direct their
order flow, including other equities
exchanges, off-exchange venues, and
alternative trading systems.
Additionally, the Exchange represents a
small percentage of the overall market.
Based on publicly available information,
no single equities exchange has more
than 16% of the market share.
17
Therefore, no exchange possesses
significant pricing power in the
execution of order flow. Indeed,
participants can readily choose to send
their orders to other exchange and off-
exchange venues if they deem fee levels
at those other venues to be more
favorable. Moreover, the Commission
has repeatedly expressed its preference
for competition over regulatory
intervention in determining prices,
products, and services in the securities
markets. Specifically, in Regulation
NMS, the Commission highlighted the
importance of market forces in
determining prices and SRO revenues
and, also, recognized that current
regulation of the market system ‘‘has
been remarkably successful in
promoting market competition in its
broader forms that are most important to
investors and listed companies.’’
18
The
fact that this market is competitive has
also long been recognized by the courts.
In NetCoalition v. Securities and
Exchange Commission, the D.C. Circuit
stated as follows: ‘‘[n]o one disputes
that competition for order flow is
‘fierce.’ . . . As the SEC explained, ‘[i]n
the U.S. national market system, buyers
and sellers of securities, and the broker-
dealers that act as their order-routing
agents, have a wide range of choices of
where to route orders for execution’;
[and] ‘no exchange can afford to take its
market share percentages for granted’
because ‘no exchange possesses a
monopoly, regulatory or otherwise, in
the execution of order flow from broker
dealers’. . . .’’.
19
Accordingly, the
Exchange does not believe its proposed
fee changes 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
The Exchange neither solicited nor
received comments on the proposed
rule change.
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)
20
of the Act and paragraph
(f) of Rule 19b–4
21
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
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21365
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 76 / Thursday, April 22, 2021 / Notices
22
17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
1
15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2
15 U.S.C. 78a.
3
17 CFR 240.19b–4.
4
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90209
(October 15, 2020), 85 FR 67044 (October 21, 2020)
(SR–NYSE–2020–05, SR–NYSEAMER–2020–05,
SR–NYSEArca–2020–08, SR–NYSECHX–2020–02,
SR–NYSENAT–2020–03, SR–NYSE–2020–11, SR–
NYSEAMER–2020–10, SR–NYSEArca–2020–15,
SR–NYSECHX–2020–05, SR–NYSENAT–2020–08)
(‘‘Wireless Approval Order’’).
5
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. v. SEC, No. 20–
1470 (D.C. Cir. 2020).
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–
CboeBYX–2021–010 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–CboeBYX–2021–010. 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 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.
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–CboeBYX–2021–010, and
should be submitted on or before May
13, 2021.
For the Commission, by the Division
of Trading and Markets, pursuant to
delegated authority.
22
J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–08309 Filed 4–21–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–91599; File No. SR–
NYSEAMER–2021–21]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
American LLC; Notice of Filing of
Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
Schedule of Wireless, Circuits, and
Non-Colocation Connectivity Services
Available at the Mahwah Data Center
April 16, 2021.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1)
1
of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),
2
and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,
3
notice is hereby given that on April 9,
2021, NYSE American LLC (‘‘NYSE
American’’ 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 wireless, circuits, and non-
colocation connectivity services
available at the Mahwah data center (the
‘‘Fee Schedule’’) to add services
available to customers in the meet me
rooms in the Mahwah data center and
procedures for the allocation of cabinets
and power to such customers. The
proposed rule change is available on the
Exchange’s website 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,
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 the
Fee Schedule to add services available
to customers in the two meet me rooms
on the north and south sides of the
Mahwah data center (‘‘MMRs’’) and
procedures for the allocation of cabinets
and power to MMR customers.
The Exchange makes the current
proposal solely as a result of its
determination that the Commission’s
recent interpretations of the Act’s
definitions of the terms ‘‘exchange’’ and
‘‘facility,’’ as expressed in the Wireless
Approval Order,
4
apply to the
connectivity services described herein
that are offered by entities other than
the Exchange. The Exchange disagrees
with the Commission’s interpretations,
denies the services covered herein (and
in the Wireless Approval Order) are
offerings of an ‘‘exchange’’ or a
‘‘facility’’ thereof, and has sought review
of the Commission’s interpretations, as
expressed in the Wireless Approval
Order, in the Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit.
5
Pending
resolution of such appeal, however, the
Exchange is making this proposed rule
change in recognition that the
Commission’s current interpretation
brings certain offerings of the
Exchange’s affiliates into the scope of
the terms ‘‘exchange’’ or ‘‘facility.’’
Background
Through its ICE Data Services (‘‘IDS’’)
business, Intercontinental Exchange,
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