2012-18219. Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Increase Position and Exercise Limits for EEM Options

July 20, 2012.

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”),^[1] and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,^[2] notice is hereby given that on July 9, 2012, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (“Exchange” or “CBOE”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II 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 Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

CBOE proposes to amend Interpretation and Policy .07 to Rule 4.11 (Position Limits) to increase the position and exercise limits for options on the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (“EEM”) to 500,000 contracts. The text of the rule proposal is available on the Exchange's Web site (http://www.cboe.org/​legal), at the Exchange's Office of the Secretary and at the Commission.

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 Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose

The Exchange began trading options on the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (“EEM”) on March 9, 2006. Position limits for exchange-traded fund (“ETFs”) options, such as EEM options, are determined pursuant to Rule 4.11 and vary according to the number of outstanding share [sic] and past six-month trading volume of the underlying stock or ETF. The largest in capitalization and most frequently traded stocks and ETFs have an option position limit of 250,000 contracts (with adjustments for splits, re-capitalizations, etc.) on the same side of the market; smaller capitalization stocks and ETFs have position limits of 200,000, 75,000, 50,000 or 25,000 contracts (with adjustments for splits, re-capitalizations, etc.) on the same side of the market. The current position limit for EEM options is 250,000 contracts. The purpose of the proposed rule change is to amend CBOE Rule 4.11, Interpretation and Policy .07 to increase the position and exercise limits for EEM options to 500,000 contracts.^[3]

There is precedent for establishing position limits for options on actively-traded ETFs and these position limit levels are set forth in Interpretation and Policy .07 to Rule 4.11.

Security underlying option	Position limit (contracts)
The DIAMONDS Trust (DIA)	300,000
The Standard and Poor's Depositary Receipts Trust (SPY)	900,000
The iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM)	500,000
The PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ)	900,000

In support of this proposed rule change, the Exchange has collected trading statistics comparing EEM to IWM and SPY. As shown in the following table, the average daily volume in 2011 for EEM was 65 million shares compared to 64.1 million shares for IWM and 213 million shares for SPY. The total shares outstanding for EEM are 922.9 million compared to 192.6 million shares for IWM and 716.1 million shares for SPY. Further, the fund market cap for EEM is $41.1 billion compared to $15.5 billion for IWM and $98.3 billion for SPY.

ETF	2011 ADV (mil. shares)	2011 ADV (option contracts)	Shares outstanding (mil.)	Fund market cap ($bil)
EEM	65	280,000	922.9	41.1
IWM	64.1	662,500	192.6	15.5
SPY	213	2,892,000	716.1	98.3

The Exchange believes that increasing position limits for EEM options will lead to a more liquid and competitive market environment for EEM options that will benefit customers interested in this product.

Under the Exchange's proposal, the options reporting requirement for EEM options would continue unabated. Thus, the Exchange would still require that each Trading Permit Holder (“TPH”) or TPH organization that maintains a position in EEM options on the same side of the market, for its own account or for the account of a customer, report certain information to the Exchange. This information would include, but would not be limited to, the option position, whether such position is hedged and, if so, a description of the hedge, and the collateral used to carry the position, if applicable. Exchange market-makers (including Designated Primary Market-Makers) would continue to be exempt from this reporting requirement, as market-maker information can be accessed through the Exchange's market surveillance systems. In addition, the general reporting requirement for customer accounts that maintain an aggregate position of 200 or more option contracts would remain at this level for EEM options.^[4]

As the anniversary of listed options trading approaches its fortieth year, the Exchange believes that the existing surveillance procedures and reporting requirements at CBOE, other options exchanges, and at the several clearing firms are capable of properly identifying unusual and/or illegal trading activity. In addition, routine oversight inspections of the Exchange's regulatory programs by the Commission have not uncovered any material inconsistencies or shortcomings in the manner in which the Exchange's market surveillance is conducted. These procedures utilize daily monitoring of market movements via automated surveillance techniques to identify unusual activity in both options and underlying stocks.^[5]

Furthermore, large stock holdings must be disclosed to the Commission by way of Schedules 13D or 13G.^[6] Options positions are part of any reportable positions and, thus, cannot be legally hidden. Moreover, the Exchange's requirement that TPHs file reports with the Exchange for any customer who held aggregate large long or short positions of any single class for the previous day will continue to serve as an important part of the Exchange's surveillance efforts.

The Exchange believes that the current financial requirements imposed by the Exchange and by the Commission adequately address concerns that a TPH or its customer may try to maintain an inordinately large un-hedged position in an option, particularly on EEM. Current margin and risk-based haircut methodologies serve to limit the size of positions maintained by any one account by increasing the margin and/or capital that a TPH must maintain for a large position held by itself or by its customer.^[7] In addition, the Commission's net capital rule, Rule 15c3-1 ^[8] under the Act,^[9] imposes a capital charge on TPHs to the extent of any margin deficiency resulting from the higher margin requirement.

2. Statutory Basis

The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including the requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act.^[10] In particular, the Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the Section 6(b)(5) ^[11] requirements that the rules of an exchange be designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts, to foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, to remove impediments to and to perfect the mechanism for a free and open market and a national market system, and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. Specifically, the proposed rule change will benefit large market makers (which generally have the greatest potential and actual ability to provide liquidity and depth in the product), as well as retail traders, investors, and public customers, by providing them with a more effective trading and hedging vehicle. In addition, the Exchange believes that the structure of EEM options and the considerable liquidity of the market for EEM options diminish the opportunity to manipulate this product and disrupt the underlying market that a lower position limit may protect against.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

CBOE does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

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

Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:

(A) By order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change, or

(B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.

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

• Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/​rules/​sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to [e-mail]. Please include File Number SR-CBOE-2012-066 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

• Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-CBOE-2012-066. 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 Web site (http://www.sec.gov/​rules/​sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-CBOE-2012-066 and should be submitted on or before August 16, 2012.

For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.^[12]

Kevin M. O'Neill,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).

2.  17 CFR 240.19b-4.

3.  By virtue of CBOE Rule 4.12, Interpretation and Policy .02, which is not being amended by this filing, the exercise limit for EEM options would be similarly increased.

4.  For reporting requirements, see CBOE Rule 4.13.

5.  These procedures have been effective for the surveillance of EEM options trading and will continue to be employed.

6.  17 CFR 240.13d-1.

7.  See CBOE Rule 12.3 for a description of margin requirements.

8.  17 CFR 240.15c3-1.

9.  15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) [sic].

10.  15 U.S.C. 78f(b).

11.  15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

12.  17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).