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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1

and is the industry standard that all brokers with street name accounts and issuers rely upon. Approval of NYSEs proposed elimination of its rate schedule therefore would do more than simply conform NYSEs rules to those of other exchanges; it would result in NYSEs relinquishment of an important market-wide regulatory function that it currently performs, and without there being evidence in the record of this filing of an available and equally viable alternative for that function.
When assessing this proposed rule change, the Commission must consider its consistency with the Act and the applicable rules and regulations issued thereunder.52 As stated above, under the Commissions Rules of Practice, the burden to demonstrate that a proposed rule change is consistent with the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations issued thereunder . . . is on the self-regulatory organization that proposed the rule change. 53 For the foregoing reasons, the Exchange has not met its burden to demonstrate that it would be consistent with the Act for the Exchange to relinquish its current role in setting the maximum reimbursement rates that establish the industry standard. In particular, the Exchange has not adequately demonstrated that, 52 The Commission notes that almost all commenters urged comprehensive, Commission-led reform to the current reimbursement structure. See First FINRA Letter, Second FINRA Letter, First STA
Letter, Second STA Letter, First Computershare Letter, Second Computershare Letter, SCC Letter, First ICI Letter, Second ICI Letter. See also letters from: Timothy W. McHale, Senior Vice President &
Senior Counsel, Capital Research and Management Company, and Anthony M. Seiffert, Chief Compliance Officer, American Funds Service Company, dated January 11, 2021; Catherine L.
Newell, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, dated January 11, 2021; Peter J. Germain, Chief Legal Officer, Federated Hermes, Inc., dated January 11, 2021; Basil K. Fox, Jr., President, Franklin Templeton Investor Services, LLC, dated January 11, 2021; Heidi Hardin, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, MFS Investment Management, dated January 11, 2021; Thomas E.
Faust Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eaton Vance Corp., dated January 14, 2021; Noah Hamman, Chief Executive Officer, AdvisorShares Investments, LLC, dated January 14, 2021; Timothy W. McHale, Senior Vice President & Senior Counsel, Capital Research and Management Company, and Anthony M. Seiffert, Chief Compliance Officer, American Funds Service Company, dated May 18, 2021; and Heidi Hardin, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, MFS
Investment Management, dated May 19, 2021. The Commission must consider the proposed rule change that was filed, and thus such reform is beyond the scope of this proposed rule change. As noted above, the Exchange stated that the proposed rule change is not intended to take a position on the appropriateness of the fee schedules for proxy and other distributions currently set forth in NYSE
Rules 451 and 465 or in the rules of any other SRO.
See supra note 19 and accompanying text.
53 Rule 700b3, Commission Rules of Practice, 17 CFR 201.700b3.

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in its absence from that role, issuer interests would continue to be considered and not unfairly discriminated against. As a result, the Commission does not have sufficient information to find that the Exchanges proposal would promote just and equitable principles of trade and protect investors and the public interest, and not permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. Accordingly, the Commission must disapprove the proposal because the Exchange has not met its burden to demonstrate that the proposal is consistent with Section 6b5 of the Act.54
IV. Conclusion For the reasons set forth above, the Commission does not find, pursuant to Section 19b2 of the Act, that the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange, and in particular, with Section 6b5 of the Act.55
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19b2 of the Act,56 that the proposed rule change SRNYSE2020
96 is disapproved.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.57
Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary.
FR Doc. 202118119 Filed 82321; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 801101P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Release No. 3492698; File No. SRGEMX
202108

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq GEMX, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Amend GEMXs Options Regulatory Fee August 18, 2021.

Pursuant to Section 19b1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 the Act,1 and Rule 19b4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on August 9, 2021, Nasdaq GEMX, LLC GEMX or Exchange filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the 54 In disapproving this proposed rule change, the Commission has considered the proposed rules impact on efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78cf.
55 15 U.S.C. 78fb5.
56 15 U.S.C. 78sb2.
57 17 CFR 200.303a12.
1 15 U.S.C. 78sb1.
2 17 CFR 240.19b4.

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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 Organizations Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend GEMXs Pricing Schedule at Options 7, Section 5 related to the Options Regulatory Fee or ORF.
While the changes proposed herein are effective upon filing, the Exchange has designated the amendments become operative on October 1, 2021.
The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchanges website at https listingcenter.nasdaq.com/
rulebook/gemx/rules, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commissions Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organizations 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 Organizations Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose Currently, GEMX assesses an ORF of $0.0018 per contract side as specified in GEMXs Pricing Schedule at Options 7, Section 5. The Exchange proposes to waive its ORF from October 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022, and then recommence the ORF on February 1, 2022.
By way of background, the options industry has experienced extremely high options trading volumes and volatility. This historical anomaly of persistent increased options volumes has impacted GEMXs ORF collection which, in turn, has caused the Exchange to continue to revisit its financial forecast to reflect the sustained elevated options volumes and volatility. As the Exchange continues to monitor the amount of revenue collected from the ORF to ensure that our ORF collection,
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