Notice2026-06464
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Modify the NYSE American Options Fee Schedule To Eliminate Certain Incentive Programs and Increase the Limit on the Maximum Combined Floor Broker Credits Paid on QCC Trades and Rebates Paid Through the Manual Billable Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 3, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 64 (Friday, April 3, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 64 (Friday, April 3, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17020-17023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06464]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-105132; File No. SR-NYSEAMER-2026-25]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE American LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Modify
the NYSE American Options Fee Schedule To Eliminate Certain Incentive
Programs and Increase the Limit on the Maximum Combined Floor Broker
Credits Paid on QCC Trades and Rebates Paid Through the Manual Billable
Program
March 31, 2026.
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 March 18, 2026, NYSE American LLC (``NYSE American'' or the
``Exchange'') 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 self-regulatory
organization. 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\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
\3\ 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 modify the NYSE American Options Fee
Schedule (``Fee Schedule'') regarding: (i) the limit on the maximum
combined Floor Broker credits paid for QCC trades and rebates paid
through the Manual Billable Rebate Program (the ``FB Cap''); (ii) a
pricing incentive designed to encourage Floor Broker participation in
trading AON Single and AON Complex CUBE Auction options on NYSE
American (the ``FB AON CUBE Rebate''); and (iii) an ATP Credit Simple/
Complex Customer Electronic rebate (``ATP Electronic Rebate''). The
Exchange proposes to implement the fee changes effective March 18,
2026. The proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's website
at <a href="http://www.nyse.com">www.nyse.com</a> and at the principal office of the Exchange.
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 the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to modify the Fee Schedule to: (i) increase
the FB Cap; (ii) eliminate the FB AON CUBE Rebate; and (iii) eliminate
the ATP Electronic Rebate. The Exchange proposes to implement the fee
changes effective March 18, 2026.\4\
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\4\ The Exchange originally filed to amend the Fee Schedule on
February 27, 2026 (SR-NYSEAMER-2026-13). SR-NYSEArca-2026-13 was
withdrawn on March 12, 2026, and replaced by this filing.
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FB Cap
The FB Cap is a limit on the maximum combined Floor Broker credits
paid for QCC trades and rebates paid through the Manual Billable Rebate
Program of $4,000,000 per month per Floor Broker firm.\5\ In 2025, in
response to extreme market volatility and a concomitant surge in open
outcry volume that led to Floor Broker firms earning higher than
average monthly credits and rebates, the Exchange waived the FB Cap for
April 2025 through December 2025 to allow Floor Broker firms to
continue to send credit/rebate-generating order flow to the Exchange
without concern for reaching the FB Cap.\6\ Because open outcry volumes
on the Exchange remained elevated, the Exchange extended the waiver to
January and February 2026 and raised the FB Cap from $3,000,000 to
$4,000,000.\7\
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\5\ See Fee Schedule, Sections I.F. and III.E.1. (providing, in
relevant part, that Floor Broker credits paid for QCC trades and
rebates paid through the Manual Billable Rebate Program shall not
combine to exceed $4,000,000 per month per Floor Broker firm).
\6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 102890 (April 18,
2025), 90 FR 17273 (April 24, 2025) (SRNYSEAMER-2025-26); 102985
(May 2, 2025), 90 FR 19584 (May 8, 2025) (SR-NYSEAMER-2025-27);
103623 (August 1, 2025), 90 FR 37905 (August 6, 2025) (SR-NYSEAMER-
2025-46); 104258 (November 25, 2025), 90 FR 55186 (December 1, 2025)
(SR-NYSEAMER-2025-65).
\7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 104676 (January 23,
2026), 91 FR 3748 (January 28, 2026) (SR-NYSEAMER-2026-03).
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For the same reason, the Exchange now proposes increasing the FB
Cap to $5,500,000 per month per Floor Broker
[[Page 17021]]
firm. The proposed change is intended to incentivize Floor Brokers to
continue to direct their order flow to the Exchange, thereby increasing
liquidity to the benefit of all market participants, by increasing the
monthly cap on combined Floor Broker credits paid for QCC trades and
rebates paid through the Manual Billable Rebate Program.\8\
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\8\ The Exchange also proposes a non-substantive, clean up
change to delete language from the Fee Schedule in Sections I.F. and
III.E.1 referencing the waiver of the FB Cap for the months of
January and February 2026, which will have expired.
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FB AON CUBE Rebate
The Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to eliminate a
pricing incentive designed to encourage Floor Broker participation in
trading AON Single and FB AON CUBE Rebate. Currently, the FB AON CUBE
Rebate provides for a credit of $0.12 applied to each of the first
5,000 contracts of an AON CUBE order executed in an AON Single-Leg CUBE
auction, or the first 1,000 contracts per leg of an AON CUBE order
executed in an AON Complex CUBE auction.
Only Floor Brokers that execute a minimum of 2,500 contracts ADV in
AON CUBE Orders in either AON Single-Leg or AON Complex CUBE auction
are eligible to receive the FB AON CUBE Rebate. AON CUBE Orders
executed by a Floor Broker on behalf of an ATP Holder may only be
counted towards the Floor Broker's eligibility for the FB AON CUBE
Rebate.
The Exchange adopted the FB AON CUBE Rebate in an effort to attract
greater liquidity to the Exchange generally and would therefore benefit
all market participants (including those that do not participate in
auction mechanisms) through increased opportunities to trade at
potentially improved prices as well as enhancing price discovery. To
the extent that the proposed fees and credits are successful in
incentivizing utilization of AON CUBE Auctions, it was hoped that this
increased order flow would improve price discovery and make the
Exchange a more competitive venue for order execution, which, in turn,
would improve market quality for all market participants (including
those that do not participate in AON CUBE Auctions). Because the FB AON
CUBE Rebate has been underutilized and thus has not achieved its
intended effect, the Exchange now proposes to eliminate it from the Fee
Schedule.
ATP Electronic Rebate
As set forth in Section I.H. of the Fee Schedule, ATP Holders are
currently eligible to receive the Customer Credit of $0.10 per contract
on Customer Electronic Simple and Complex executions, excluding CUBE
Auctions, QCC Transactions, and volume from orders routed to another
exchange, by meeting each of the following monthly qualification
levels: (a) 5,000 contracts ADV from Initiating CUBE Orders in Complex
CUBE Auctions; (b) Customer Electronic executions of 0.03% of TCADV,
excluding CUBE Auctions, QCC Transactions, and volume from orders
routed to another exchange; and (c) Professional Electronic executions
of 0.02% of TCADV, excluding CUBE Auctions, QCC Transactions, and
volume from orders routed to another exchange.\9\
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\9\ See Fee Schedule, Section I.H. In calculating an Order Flow
Provider's (OFP) Electronic volume, the Exchange will include the
activity of either (i) Affiliates of the OFP, such as when an OFP
has an Affiliated NYSE American Options Market Making firm, or (ii)
an Appointed MM of such OFP.
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The rebate was designed to incentivize ATP Holders to direct order
flow to the Exchange and to encourage ATP Holders to engage in a
variety of transactions on the Exchange. It was hoped that the
increased liquidity on the Exchange would result in enhanced market
quality for all participants. However, similar to the FB AON CUBE
Rebate, the ATP Electronic Rebate is not currently actioned by any
participants. Because it has been underutilized and thus has not
achieved its intended effect, the Exchange now proposes to eliminate it
from the Fee Schedule. In doing so, the Exchange notes that potential
participants will still be able to achieve Customer Electronic rebates
via its American Customer Engagement (ACE) program.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\10\ in general, and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and (5) of the Act.\11\ In particular,
because it provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees, and other charges among its members, issuers and other persons
using its facilities and does not unfairly discriminate between
customers, issuers, brokers or dealers.
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\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) & (5).
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FB Cap
The proposed increase to the FB Cap is reasonable, equitable, and
not unfairly discriminatory. As a threshold matter, the Exchange is
subject to significant competitive forces in the market for options
securities transaction services that constrain its pricing
determinations in that market. The Commission has repeatedly expressed
its preference for competition over regulatory intervention in
determining prices, products, and services in the securities markets.
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.'' \12\
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\12\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9,
2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005) (S7-10-04) (``Reg NMS
Adopting Release'').
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There are currently 18 registered options exchanges competing for
order flow. Based on publicly available information, and excluding
index-based options, no single exchange has more than 16% of the market
share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity and ETF options
trades.\13\ Therefore, currently no exchange possesses significant
pricing power in the execution of multiply-listed equity and ETF
options order flow. More specifically, in January 2026, the Exchange
had 9.03% market share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity and
ETF options order flow.\14\ In such a low concentrated and highly
competitive market, no single options exchange possesses significant
pricing power in the execution of option order flow. 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 or reduce use of certain categories of products, in
response to fee changes. Accordingly, competitive forces constrain
options exchange transaction fees. In response to this competitive
marketplace, the Exchange has established incentives, such as the FB
Cap, to encourage market participants to direct order flow to the
Exchange.
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\13\ The OCC publishes options and futures volume in a variety
of formats, including daily and monthly volume by exchange,
available at: <a href="https://www.theocc.com/Market-Data/Market-Data-Reports/Volume-and-Open-Interest/Monthly-Weekly-Volume-Statistics">https://www.theocc.com/Market-Data/Market-Data-Reports/Volume-and-Open-Interest/Monthly-Weekly-Volume-Statistics</a>.
\14\ Based on a compilation of OCC data for monthly volume of
equity-based options and monthly volume of equity-based ETF options,
see id., the Exchange's market share in equity-based options
increased from 6.09% for the month of November 2024 to 9.03% for the
month of January 2026.
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The Exchange believes the proposed change to the FB Cap is
reasonable because it is designed to encourage the unique function of
Floor Brokers in facilitating the execution of open outcry orders, to
the benefit of all market
[[Page 17022]]
participants. To the extent the proposed increase to the amount of the
FB Cap encourages Floor Brokers to continue facilitating transactions
on the Exchange (instead of on a competing market), all market
participants should benefit from increased liquidity, and increased
order flow on the Exchange, which would continue to make the Exchange a
more competitive venue for order execution, thus supporting market
quality for all market participants. Finally, the FB Cap, as proposed,
would apply equally to all Floor Brokers that execute manual
transactions and/or QCC transactions and that earn rebates and credits
applied toward such cap.
FB AON CUBE Rebate and ATP Electronic Rebate
The Exchange also believes that the elimination of the FB AON CUBE
Rebate and the ATP Electronic Rebate is reasonable, equitable, and not
unfairly discriminatory. Their elimination provides for the equitable
allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its
members, issuers and other persons using its facilities and does not
unfairly discriminate between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
In addition, the programs have not encouraged Floor Brokers to increase
participation in AON Single and AON Complex CUBE Auction options or
incentivize ATP Holders to direct order flow to the Exchange and
eliminating underutilized incentive programs would simplify the Fee
Schedule.
Finally, the AON CUBE Rebate would be eliminated in its entirety
and would no longer be available to any Floor Broker. Similarly, the
removal of the ATP Electronic Rebate would apply equally to all
potential participants who would still be able to achieve rebates via
the Exchange's ACE program.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act, the Exchange does
not believe that the proposed rule change would impose any burden on
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act.
Intramarket Competition. The proposed change to the FB Cap is
designed to continue to attract order flow to the Exchange by offering
Floor Brokers competitive rates to continue to direct their order flow
to the Exchange, thereby increasing liquidity to the benefit of all
market participants. The proposed change to the FB Cap would apply
equally to all similarly situated Floor Brokers. To the extent that the
increased FB Cap imposes an additional competitive burden on non-Floor
Brokers, the Exchange believes that any such burden is outweighed by
the fact that Floor Brokers serve an important function in facilitating
the execution of orders and price discovery for all market
participants.
In addition, the Exchange believes that the proposed elimination of
the FB AON CUBE Rebate or the ATP Electronic Rebate would not affect
intramarket competition because, as noted above, the programs have not
effectively encouraged increased Floor Broker participation, and its
elimination would impact all Floor Brokers equally.
Intermarket Competition. The Exchange operates in a highly
competitive market in which market participants can readily favor one
of the other 17 competing option exchanges if they deem fee levels at a
particular venue to be excessive. In such an environment, the Exchange
must continually adjust its fees to remain competitive with other
exchanges and to attract order flow to the Exchange. Based on publicly
available information, and excluding index-based options, no single
exchange has more than 16% of the market share of executed volume of
multiply listed equity and ETF options trades. Therefore, currently no
exchange possesses significant pricing power in the execution of
multiply listed equity and ETF options order flow. More specifically,
in January 2026, the Exchange had 9.03% market share of executed volume
of multiply listed equity and ETF options order flow.
The proposed change to the FB Cap is designed to continue to
incentivize Floor Brokers to direct manual and QCC transactions to the
Exchange, to provide liquidity and to attract order flow to the
Exchange. To the extent that Floor Brokers are encouraged to utilize
the Exchange as a primary trading venue for all transactions, all of
the Exchange's market participants should benefit from improved market
quality and increased opportunities for price improvement.
Similarly, the Exchange believes that the elimination of the FB AON
CUBE Rebate or the ATP Electronic Rebate would not affect intermarket
competition. As noted above, the Exchange operates in a highly
competitive market in which the Exchange must continually adjust its
fees and rebates to remain competitive with other exchanges and to
attract order flow to the Exchange. The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change reflects this competitive environment because it
removes an underutilized program that did not achieve its intended
purpose.
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
The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \15\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule
19b-4 \16\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other
charge imposed by the Exchange.
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\15\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\16\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of such 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 under
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \17\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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\17\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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
<bullet> Use the Commission's internet comment form (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
<bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1d3d4cdc48cc2ceccccc4cfd5d2e1d2c4c28fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fd8f889198d09e9290909893898ebd8e989ed39a928b">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-NYSEAMER-2026-25 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
<bullet> 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-NYSEAMER-2026-25. 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
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internet website (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>). Copies of the
filing will be available for inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. Do not include personal identifiable
information in submissions; you should submit only information that you
wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold
entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject
to copyright protection. All submissions should refer to file number
SR-NYSEAMER-2026-25 and should be submitted on or before April 24,
2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\18\
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\18\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-06464 Filed 4-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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