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Notice2026-19727

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Modify the NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule To Amend the Exchange's Port Fees

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Published
September 28, 2026

Issuing agencies

Securities and Exchange Commission

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 186 (Monday, September 28, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 186 (Monday, September 28, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61268-61271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19727]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-106477; File No. SR-NYSEARCA-2026-100]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Modify the 
NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule To Amend the Exchange's Port Fees

September 23, 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 September 17, 2026, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca'' 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

[[Page 61269]]

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 Arca Options Fee Schedule 
(``Fee Schedule'') to amend the Exchange's port fees. The Exchange 
proposes implementing the fee change effective September 17, 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 amend the 
Exchange's port fees.\4\ The Exchange proposes to implement the fee 
change effective September 17, 2026.\5\
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    \4\ See Fee Schedule, Floor Broker Fixed Cost Repayment 
Incentive Program (the ``FB Prepay Program), Port Fees. The Exchange 
last modified its port fees as of March 3, 2025, to increase the 
port fees for Order/Quote Entry Ports by up to 13.3% to account for 
inflation that had occurred since 2017. See Securities Exchange Act 
Release No. 102551 (March 10, 2025), 90 FR 12194 (March 14, 2025) 
(SR-NYSEARCA-2025-21) (``NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 
Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Increase Port 
Fees''). Prior to that, the Exchange had not increased port fees for 
Order/Quote Entry Ports since 2014.
    \5\ The Exchange originally filed to amend the Fee Schedule on 
July 31, 2026 (SR-NYSEARCA-2026-83). SR-NYSEARCA-2026-83 was 
withdrawn on August 11, 2026, and replaced by SR-NYSEARCA-2026-86. 
SR-NYSEARCA-2026-86 was withdrawn on August 25, 2026 and replaced by 
SR-NYSEARCA-88. SR-NYSEARCA-2026-88 was withdrawn on September 8, 
2026 and replaced by SR-NYSEARCA-2026-95. SR-NYSEARCA-2026-95 was 
withdrawn on September 17, 2026 and replaced by this filing.
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    The Exchange makes available ports that provide connectivity for 
OTP Holders \6\ and OTP Firms \7\ to connect to the Exchange's trading 
systems (``Order/Quote Entry Ports'') and charges a monthly fee of $510 
per port for the first 40 ports and $170 for each additional port.\8\ 
For purposes of calculating the number of Order/Quote Entry Ports, the 
Exchange aggregates the ports of affiliates.\9\ The Exchange proposes 
to modify this fee structure to maintain the monthly $510 per port fee 
for the first 40 Order/Quote Entry Ports and the monthly $170 per port 
fee for Order/Quote Entry Ports 41-300, but add varying fee levels for 
additional ports 301 and above. Specifically, the Exchange proposes the 
following fee structure: \10\
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    \6\ Pursuant to Rule 1 Definitions, the term ``OTP Holder'' 
shall refer to a natural person, in good standing, who has been 
issued an OTP, or has been named as a Nominee. An OTP Holder must be 
a registered broker or dealer pursuant to Section 15 of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or a nominee or an associated 
person of a registered broker or dealer that has been approved by 
the Exchange to conduct business on the Exchange's Trading 
Facilities. An OTP Holder will have status as a ``member'' of the 
NYSE Arca, Inc. as that term is defined in Section 3 of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
    \7\ Pursuant to Rule 1 Definitions, the term ``OTP Firm'' shall 
refer to a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited 
liability company or other organization in good standing who holds 
an OTP or upon whom an individual OTP Holder has conferred trading 
privileges on the Exchange's Trading Facilities pursuant to and in 
compliance with these Rules. An OTP Firm must be a registered broker 
or dealer pursuant to Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934. An OTP Firm will have status as a ``member'' of the NYSE Arca, 
Inc. as that term is defined in Section 3 of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934, as amended.
    \8\ See Fee Schedule, Floor Broker Fixed Cost Repayment 
Incentive Program (the ``FB Prepay Program), Port Fees.
    \9\ Id.
    \10\ See proposed Fee Schedule Floor Broker Fixed Cost Repayment 
Incentive Program (the ``FB Prepay Program), Port Fees.

<bullet> Ports 1-40: $510 per port per month
<bullet> Ports 41-300: $170 per port per month
<bullet> Ports 301-1000: $250 per port per month
<bullet> Ports 1001 and greater: $510 per port per month

    The Exchange's proposal addresses the fact that ports consume a 
finite shared capacity across OTP Holders and OTP Firms and the 
aggregate footprint drives the infrastructure that the Exchange must 
engineer, provision, staff and periodically expand to maintain 
performance. As the number of ports in use grows, the Exchange must 
dedicate additional capacity and expense to meet this demand. The 
proposed fee for the use of more than 300 ports reflects this reality 
and is intended to encourage OTP Holders and OTP Firms to size their 
port usage efficiently.
    While the Exchange's proposal increases the fees for the use of 
more than 300 ports, the Exchange's overall port fees remain lower than 
the similar port fees charged by Cboe Exchange, Inc. (``Cboe''), Nasdaq 
PHLX, LLC (``PHLX'') and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq''), as 
detailed in the following chart:


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Monthly fee
            Exchange             Type of product/service    (per port)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cboe *.........................  1st to 5th FIX Logical             $750
                                  Port.
                                 6th or more FIX Logical             800
                                  Port.
PHLX **........................  SQF Port Fee ***.......           1,185
                                 FIX Port Fee...........             650
Nasdaq ****....................  FIX Port Fee...........             650
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* See CBOE Fee Schedule Available at Cboe_FeeSchedule.pdf.
** See PHLX Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section 9B(1) FIX Port Fee and
  PHLX Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section 9(B)(3) SQF Port Fee
  available at Rules [verbar] Nasdaq PHLX.
*** PHLX's SQF ports are specifically designed for Market Makers to send
  and receive quote/related messages, whereas FIX ports are their
  general-purpose order entry/related ports. Pursuant to the PHLX
  Options Pricing Schedule, a Market Maker may not subscribe to more
  than 250 ports. See PHLX Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section 9(B)(3),
  supra.
**** See Nasdaq Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section 3(i)(1) Nasdaq
  Options Market--Ports and Other Services available at Rules [verbar]
  The Nasdaq Stock Market.

    As set forth on the chart, the Exchange's proposed port fee is less 
than that imposed by similarly situated options exchanges. 
Specifically, the monthly fees that the Exchange will continue to 
charge for the use of ports 1 through 40 ($510 per port) and 41 through 
300 ($170 per port) will remain lower than the fees charged by Cboe,

[[Page 61270]]

PHLX and Nasdaq for the same number of ports. Similarly, the proposed 
new monthly tiers for ports 301-1,000 ($250 per port) and more than 
1,001 ($510 per port) are lower than the fees charged by Cboe and 
Nasdaq for the same number of ports, $800 and $650, respectively.
PHLX
    In general, the Exchange's FIX port allows ATP Holders to send 
simple and complex orders, quotes and other messages using FIX 
protocols.\11\ While it does not include the sending of quotes,\12\ 
PHLX's FIX Ports are analogous to the Exchange's FIX Ports in that they 
that allow PHLX participants to connect, send, and receive messages 
related to orders to and from PHLX, which include the following: (1) 
execution messages; (2) order messages; and (3) risk protection 
triggers and cancel notifications.\13\
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    \11\ See generally, NYSE Pillar Options FIX Gateway Protocol 
Specification.
    \12\ Market Maker quotes are sent to PHLX via SQF port fees. See 
PHLX Options 3, Section 7, Supplementary Materials .03(C).
    \13\ See PHLX Options 3, Section 7, Supplementary Materials 
.03(A).
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    Notwithstanding this difference, PHLX charges a higher monthly FIX 
port fee than the one proposed by the Exchange, regardless of the 
number of ports being used. For ports 1 through 40, PHLX charges $140 
more per month per port than the Exchange. The difference increases for 
ports 41 through 300 and ports 301 through 1000, where PHLX charges 
$480 and $400 more than the Exchange per month per port, respectively. 
For more than 1,000 ports, PHLX continues to charge higher per month 
per port fee than that proposed by the Exchange ($650 compared to 
$510).
Nasdaq
    While it does not include the sending of quotes,\14\ Nasdaq FIX 
Ports are analogous to the Exchange's FIX Ports in that they that allow 
Nasdaq participants to connect, send, and receive messages related to 
orders to and from Nasdaq, which include the following: (1) execution 
messages; (2) order messages; and (3) risk protection triggers and 
cancel notifications.\15\
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    \14\ Market Maker quotes are sent to Nasdaq via SQF port fees. 
See Nasdaq Options 3, Section 7, Supplementary Materials .03(C).
    \15\ See Nasdaq Options 3, Section 7, Supplementary Materials 
.03(A).
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    Notwithstanding this difference, Nasdaq charges a higher monthly 
FIX port fee than the one proposed by the Exchange, regardless of the 
number of ports being used. For ports 1 through 40, Nasdaq charges $140 
more per month per port than the Exchange. The difference increases for 
ports 41 through 300 and ports 301 through 1000, where Nasdaq charges 
$480 and $400 more than the Exchange per month per port, respectively. 
For more than 1,000 ports, Nasdaq continues to charge higher per month 
per port fee than that proposed by the Exchange ($650 compared to 
$510).
Cboe
    Cboe charges higher Logical Port fees than the FIX Port fees 
proposed by the Exchange. Cboe's Logical Ports are analogous to the 
Exchange's FIX Ports. In general, a FIX Port allows an ATP Holder to 
send simple and complex orders, as well as other messages, to the 
Exchange using the FIX protocol.\16\
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    \16\ See generally, NYSE Pillar Options FIX Gateway Protocol 
Specification.
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    Cboe Logical Ports allow for order entry and other messages to be 
sent to Cboe by participants.\17\ Cboe charges $750 per month per port 
for the first through fifth port and $800 per port per month for each 
port above that, while the Exchange's highest proposed tier is only 
$510 per port per month.
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    \17\ See, generally, Cboe Titanium U.S. Options FIX 
Specification, available at <a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf</a>.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\18\ in general, and furthers the 
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and (5) of the Act.\19\ 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. The charges are aligned with, 
albeit lower than, industry fee practices and are directly related to 
the resources expended and costs related to an OTP Holder or OTP Firm's 
use of a greater number of ports.
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    \18\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \19\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) & (5).
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The Proposed Rule Change Is Reasonable
    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.'' \20\
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    \20\ 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 [sic] 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.\21\ Therefore, currently no exchange possesses significant 
pricing power in the execution of multiply-listed equity and ETF 
options order flow. More specifically, in June 2026, the Exchange had 
10.41% market share of executed volume of multiply-listed equity and 
ETF options order flow. In such a low concentrated and highly 
competitive market, no single options exchange possesses significant 
pricing power in the execution of option order flow.
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    \21\ 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>.
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    In addition, even with the proposed increase, the Exchange's Order/
Quote Entry Ports fees are comparatively low, vis-a-vis industry peer 
standards. Moreover, the proposed structural fee changes are narrowly 
targeted to the increased level of resources expended and costs 
associated with an OTP Holder's or OTP Firm's increase in the number of 
Exchange ports employed. Specifically, as noted above, ports consume a 
finite shared capacity across OTP Holders and OTP Firms and the 
aggregate footprint drives the infrastructure that the Exchange must 
engineer, provision, staff and periodically expand to maintain 
performance. As the number of ports in use grows, the Exchange must 
dedicate additional capacity and expense to meet this demand. The 
proposed fee for the use of more than 300 ports reflects this reality 
and is intended to encourage OTP Holders and OTP Firms to size their 
port usage efficiently.
The Proposed Fees Are Equitably Allocated and Not Unfairly 
Discriminatory
    The Exchange believes that the proposed fee change is equitably 
allocated and not unfairly discriminatory because it would apply to all 
OTP Holders and OTP Firms that

[[Page 61271]]

utilize Order/Quote Entry Ports to connect to the Exchange in the same 
manner and are not targeted at a specific type or category or market 
participant engaged in any particular trading strategy. The Exchange 
also believes that the proposal represents an equitable allocation of 
reasonable dues, fees and other charges because it will be assessed 
uniformly across all market participants and is narrowly targeted to 
the increased level of resources expended and costs associated with an 
OTP Holder's or OTP Firm's increase in the number of Exchange ports 
employed. The proposed fee will be assessed solely based on the number 
of FIX Ports an entity selects and not on any other distinction applied 
by the Exchange, allowing all OTP Holders and OTP Firms the ability to 
access all matching engines.

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 Exchange believes that the proposed 
fees do not put any market participants at a relative disadvantage 
compared to other market participants. Port fees are based on the 
number of ports utilized by OTP Holder and OTP Firms. The proposed port 
fees would not impose a barrier to entry to smaller OTP Holders and OTP 
Firms as such participants would only be charged for their relative use 
of Exchange resources (i.e., the number of ports). To the extent that 
there is an increase, it will be assessed uniformly across all market 
participants and are narrowly targeted to the increased level of 
resources expended and costs associated with an OTP Holder's or OTP 
Firm's increase in the number of Exchange ports employed.
    Intermarket Competition. The Exchange believes that the proposed 
fees do not impose a burden on competition that is not necessary or 
appropriate. The Exchange believes that the proposed Port fees do not 
place certain market participants at a relative disadvantage to other 
market participants because they will apply to all OTP Holders and OTP 
Firms in the same manner and are not targeted at a specific type or 
category of market participant engaged in any particular trading 
strategy. The proposed fees do not depend on any distinctions between 
market participants. The proposed fee will be assessed solely based on 
the number of FIX Ports an entity selects and not on any other 
distinction applied by the Exchange.
    The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market in which OTP 
Holders and OTP Firms can determine whether to connect directly to the 
Exchange based on the value received compared to the cost of doing so. 
Should any OTP Holder or OTP Firm find the proposed port fees 
unattractive, OTP Holder or OTP Firm has numerous alternative trading 
venues to which they may connect and on which they may participate.

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) \22\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 
19b-4 \23\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other 
charge imposed by the Exchange.
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    \22\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \23\ 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) \24\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed 
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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    \24\ 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#4c3e392029612f2321212922383f0c3f292f622b233a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1664637a733b75797b7b737862655665737538717960">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Please include 
file number SR-NYSEARCA-2026-100 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-NYSEARCA-2026-100. 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 (<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-NYSEARCA-2026-100 and should be 
submitted on or before October 19, 2026.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\25\
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    \25\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-19727 Filed 9-25-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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