Pursuant to section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”),
The Exchange proposes to revise the options order cancellation fee. The text of the proposed rule change is available at Amex, the Commission's Public
In its filing with the Commission, Amex 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. Amex has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.
The Exchange proposes to revise the existing options order cancellation fee set forth in the Options Fee Schedule. The proposed revision would change the manner in which the fee is determined or calculated so that the cancellation fee of $1.00 is assessed to the executing Clearing Member for each order cancelled through the Amex Order File (“AOF”) in excess of the number of orders that the executing Clearing Member executes through AOF in a given month.
The current options order cancellation fee set forth in the Options Fee Schedule differs in how the fee is assessed against executing Clearing Members. The fee of $1.00 is currently charged against an executing Clearing Member for every order that it cancels through the AOF in a given month when the total number of orders the executing Clearing Member canceled through AOF in that month exceeds the total number of orders that same Clearing Member executed through AOF in that same month. The fee does not apply to executing Clearing Members that cancel fewer than 500 orders through AOF in a given month. Accordingly, an executing Clearing Member is charged $1.00 for each cancelled order in a given month when such cancelled orders exceed executed orders through AOF unless the executing Clearing Member cancels fewer than 500 orders in such given month. The proposal seeks to change how the executing Clearing Member is assessed the order cancellation fee so that the fee pertains only to the excess of order cancellations versus order executions.
The Exchange believes that the proposal will simplify the application of the options order cancellation fee and provide greater clarity to market participants. In addition, the Exchange submits that the proposal is similar to the order cancellation fee of other options exchanges.
The Exchange believes that charging an options order cancellation fee, where applicable, for excess order cancellations is reasonable given the increase in costs to the Exchange that may occur as a result of a large volume of order cancellations. Accordingly, the Exchange seeks, through this proposal, to better manage the application of its options order cancellation fee.
The Exchange asserts that the proposal is equitable as required by section 6(b)(4) of the Act.
The proposed rule change does not impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
No written comments were solicited or received by the Exchange on this proposal.
Because the foregoing proposed rule change establishes or changes a due, fee, or other charged imposed by the Exchange, it has become effective pursuant to section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act
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:
• Use the Commission's Internet comment form (
• Send an e-mail to
• Send paper comments in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated authority.