Volume-Based Exchange Transaction Pricing for NMS Stocks

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is proposing a new rule under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) to prohibit national securities exchanges from offering volume-based transaction pricing in connection with the execution of agency-related orders in certain stocks. If exchanges offer such pricing for their members’ proprietary orders, the proposal would require the exchanges to adopt rules and written policies and procedures related to compliance with the prohibition, as well as disclose, on a monthly basis, certain information including the total number of members that qualified for each volume tier during the month.