Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to ICC's Fee Schedule

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 215 (Monday, November 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 215 (Monday, November 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70915-70916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22760]



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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-106825; File No. SR-ICC-2026-013]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to 
ICC's Fee Schedule

November 4, 2026.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934,\1\ and Rule 19b-4,\2\ notice is hereby given that on October 27, 
2026, ICE Clear Credit LLC (``ICC'' or ``ICE Clear Credit'') filed with 
the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed 
rule change as described in Items I, II and III below, which Items have 
been prepared primarily by ICC. ICC filed the proposed rule change 
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \3\ and paragraph (f)(2) of 
Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\4\ such that the proposed rule change was 
immediately effective upon filing with the Commission. 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\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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I. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the 
Proposed Rule Change

    The principal purpose of the proposed rule change is to modify its 
Client Volume Incentive Program within its credit default swap 
(``CDS'') client fee schedule (the ``client fee schedule'') for the CDS 
Clearing Service. These revisions do not require any changes to the CDS 
Clearing Participant fee schedule \5\ or the ICC CDS Clearing Rules.\6\
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    \5\ Clearing Participant fee details available at <a href="https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Fees_Clearing_Participant.pdf">https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Fees_Clearing_Participant.pdf</a>.
    \6\ ICC's CDS Clearing Rules are available on ICC's public 
website at <a href="https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Rules.pdf">https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Rules.pdf</a>.
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II. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis 
for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, ICC 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. ICC has prepared summaries, set forth in sections (A), 
(B), and (C) below, of the most significant aspects of these 
statements.

(A) Clearing Agency's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis 
for, the Proposed Rule Change

(a) Purpose
    ICC proposes to modify its Client Volume Incentive Program within 
ICC's client fee schedule. ICC maintains a client fee schedule \7\ that 
is publicly available on its website, which ICC proposes to update in 
connection with the proposed amendments to the Client Volume Incentive 
Program. Such proposed changes to the Client Volume Incentive Program 
are set forth in Exhibit 5 and described in detail as follows. ICC 
proposes to make such changes effective following any applicable 
regulatory review or approval process.\8\
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    \7\ Client fee details available at: <a href="https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Fees.pdf">https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_Clear_Credit_Fees.pdf</a>. As specified, all 
fees are charged directly to a client's Clearing Participant.
    \8\ The proposed rule change is filed for immediate 
effectiveness but will not be implemented until the change is 
certified in accordance with Commodity Futures Trading Commission 
Regulation 40.6.
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    Currently, clearing fees applicable to clients of Clearing 
Participants are charged in accordance with the product, amount and 
currency set out in the client fee schedule and subject to any 
incentive programs or fee discounts described in the client fee 
schedule. In particular, the Client Volume Incentive Program in the 
client fee schedule applies automatically to all clients of Clearing 
Participants, without further action by clients or Clearing 
Participants, and provides a tiered discount schedule (the ``Discount 
Schedule'') based on client fees billed during the calendar year. 
Specifically, for any client with annual billed fees across all ICC CDS 
instrument categories (i.e., index CDS, single name CDS, and index 
option CDS) that exceed U.S. dollar (``USD'') equivalent of $1 million, 
such client is entitled to a fee discount as follows: (i) for billed 
annual fees greater than $1 million USD equivalent and less than or 
equal to $6.94 million USD equivalent, a progressive discount from 1% 
to 100%: the discount percentage increases by 1% for each $60,000 in 
billed client fees; \9\ and (ii) for billed annual fees greater than 
$6.94 million USD equivalent, a 100% discount. The Client Volume 
Incentive Program applies to client clearing activity only, and 
Clearing Participants are not eligible to participate in the program.
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    \9\ As an example, a client that is billed a total of 
$1,120,000.00 in fees would be entitled to a 1% discount for the 
first $60,000 in fees over $1 million (or $600) and a 2% discount 
for the second $60,000 in fees over $1 million (or $1,200), for a 
total discount of $1,800.
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    The proposed changes are designed to provide additional discounts 
under the Client Volume Incentive Program. The Discount Schedule 
described above will remain unchanged. Instead, ICC proposes to make 
additional discounts available to clients who meet any of the following 
criteria. ICC proposes a footnote to specify that these additional 
discounts begin in 2027. On January 1, 2027, the following changes 
would be implemented, and such footnote would be automatically removed.
    ICC proposes the following discounts under the Client Volume 
Incentive Program for clients that satisfy the following proposed 
criteria. Under the first proposed criteria, clients that achieve a 
100% discount \10\ in the preceding calendar year will qualify for a 
lower fee cap of $3 million USD equivalent for this calendar year. To 
re-qualify for such lower fee cap for the subsequent calendar year, 
clients must achieve a 100% discount based on the Discount Schedule for 
this calendar year. Under the second proposed criteria, clients whose 
paid clearing fees after rebate reach $3 million USD equivalent by 
September 30 of this calendar year based on the Discount Schedule are 
not subject to additional clearing fees for the remainder of this 
calendar year. ICC proposes an additional clarification to add 
``Discount Schedule'' as a defined term to refer to the chart under the 
Client Incentive Program that sets out the tiered discount schedule. 
The Client Volume Incentive Program will continue to apply to client 
clearing activity only, and Clearing Participants are not eligible to 
participate in the program.
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    \10\ A 100% discount is achieved once a client's billed annual 
fees in USD equivalent reach $6.94 million. This results in a 
client's paid clearing fees capping (``fee cap'') at $3.97 million 
USD equivalent.
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(b) Statutory Basis
    ICC believes that the proposed changes are consistent with the 
requirements of the Act, including Section 17A of the Act \11\ and the 
regulations thereunder applicable to it. More specifically, the 
proposed rule change establishes or changes a member due, fee or other 
charge imposed by ICC under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \12\ and 
Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \13\ thereunder. ICC believes the proposed rule change 
is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and 
regulations thereunder applicable to

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ICC, in particular, to Section 17A(b)(3)(D),\14\ which requires that 
the rules of the clearing agency provide for the equitable allocation 
of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its participants.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1.
    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \13\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(D).
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    ICC believes that the additional discounts in the client fee 
schedule have been set at an appropriate level. In determining the 
appropriate discount level and program structure, ICC took into account 
factors such as client clearing volume, related revenue, costs and 
expenses, and the goal of increasing market participation in the 
clearing service, including the expected impacts of different fee 
levels. In ICC's view, its client fees, after taking into account the 
updated discounts under the incentive program, will be reasonable and 
appropriate for its business as the discounts take into account 
anticipated volumes, costs and expenses, and revenues under each 
contract type, and they consider current and past market activity as 
well as anticipated market activity with respect to clearing CDS 
contracts at ICC. The Client Volume Incentive Program continues to be 
designed to encourage the clearing of contracts at ICC by clients while 
properly compensating ICC for the risks, costs and expenses of clearing 
CDS contracts.
    Moreover, the updated discount will be available to all clients 
clearing contracts at ICC, based on their clearing activity. The Client 
Volume Incentive Program under the amended client fee schedule will 
continue to automatically, and without further action by clients or 
Clearing Participants, apply to all clients. ICC's fee schedules, 
including the proposed additional discounts under the incentive 
program, will continue to be transparent and to apply equally to market 
participants clearing indexes, single names, and index option CDS 
contracts at ICC. Therefore, the proposed rule change provides for the 
equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among 
participants, within the meaning of Section 17A(b)(3)(D) of the 
Act.\15\ ICC therefore believes that the proposed rule change is 
consistent with the requirements of Section 17A of the Act \16\ and the 
regulations thereunder applicable to it and is appropriately filed 
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \17\ and paragraph (f)(2) of 
Rule 19b-4 \18\ thereunder.
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    \15\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3)(D).
    \16\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1.
    \17\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \18\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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(B) Clearing Agency's Statement on Burden on Competition

    ICC does not believe the proposed rule change would have any 
impact, or impose any burden, on competition not necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purpose of the Act. As discussed 
above, the proposed changes to ICC's client fee schedule modify the 
Client Volume Incentive Program for clearing all categories of CDS 
contracts at ICC and which continues to be available to all clients 
based on their clearing activity. The implementation of such changes 
does not preclude other market participants from offering similar 
incentive programs. Moreover, ICC does not believe that the amendments 
would adversely affect the cost of clearing for clients, the ability of 
market participants to access clearing services, or the market for 
cleared services generally. Accordingly, ICC does not believe the 
amendments impose any burden on competition not necessary or 
appropriate in furtherance of the purpose of the Act.

(C) Clearing Agency's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change

    Written comments relating to the proposed rule change have not been 
solicited or received. ICC will notify the Commission of any written 
comments received by ICC.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \19\ and paragraph (f) of Rule 19b-4 \20\ 
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 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.
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    \19\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \20\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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="http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
    <bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fc8e899099d19f9391919992888fbc8f999fd29b938a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1e6c6b727b337d7173737b706a6d5e6d7b7d30797168">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Please include 
File Number SR-ICC-2026-013 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

    Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and 
Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ICC-2026-013. 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="http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>). 
Copies of such filings will be available for inspection and copying at 
the principal office of ICE Clear Credit and on ICE Clear Credit's 
website at <a href="https://www.ice.com/clear-credit/regulation">https://www.ice.com/clear-credit/regulation</a>.

    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-ICC-2026-013 and 
should be submitted on or before November 30, 2026.
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    \21\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\21\
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-22760 Filed 11-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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