Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Cboe 2 Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc.; Declaration of Effectiveness of the Fingerprint Plan of Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Cboe 2 Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc.; and Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc.

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 10, 2026)]

[Notices]

[Pages 35283-35286]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ]

[FR Doc No: 2026-11570]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-105622]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Cboe 2

Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe

EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc.; Declaration of

Effectiveness of the Fingerprint Plan of Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Cboe 2

Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe

EDGA Exchange, Inc.; and Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc.

June 5, 2026.

On March 12, 2026, Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Cboe 2 Exchange, Inc.; Cboe

BZX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc.;

and Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc. (collectively, ``CBOE'' or ``Exchange'')

filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') a

new fingerprint plan (``Plan'') \1\ pursuant to Rule 17f-2(c) \2\ under

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'').\3\ This Plan supersedes

and replaces Cboe Exchange, Inc.'s current fingerprint plan, which was

declared effective for the Commission by the Division of Trading and

Markets, pursuant to delegated authority, on December 19, 2002 (the

``2002 Fingerprint Plan'').\4\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ Attached hereto as Exhibit A. See also letter from Laura

Dickman, Vice President, Associate General Counsel, CBOE, to Lauren

Yates, Senior Special Counsel, Office of Market Supervision,

Division of Trading and Markets, dated March 12, 2026 (``CBOE

Letter'').

\2\ 17 CFR 240.17f-2(c).

\3\ 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.

\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 46467A (December 19,

2002), 67 FR 79195 (December 27, 2002) (Approval of Chicago Board

Options Exchange, Inc. Fingerprint Plan). Pursuant to the 2002

Fingerprint Plan, Cboe Exchange, Inc. channels fingerprints for,

among others, individual partners, directors, officers, and

employees of its members and member applicants. Cboe Exchange, Inc.

will continue to channel fingerprints for these personnel consistent

with the 2002 Fingerprint Plan until the Plan is implemented.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 35284]]

CBOE states that it is adopting this Plan because it is retiring

its fingerprint processing platform, which it has been using for over

twenty years, due to the availability of more modern alternatives

offered by private vendors approved by the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (``FBI'') to channel fingerprints.\5\ Therefore, as

discussed in more detail below, CBOE states that it will use an FBI-

approved private channeler (``FBI-Approved Channel Partner'') \6\ with

which it has contracted to satisfy CBOE's fingerprinting requirements

under Section 17(f)(2) of the Act with respect to its partners,

directors, officers, and employees (``Exchange Personnel'').\7\ CBOE

will also continue to maintain an arrangement with the Financial

Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (``FINRA'') to provide a facility

for the personnel of Exchange members and Exchange member applicants

(``Member Personnel'') to have their fingerprints submitted and

processed electronically to facilitate their continued compliance with

fingerprinting requirements under Section 17(f)(2) of the Act.\8\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\5\ See CBOE Letter at 1.

\6\ The FBI-Approved Channel Partner is one of a limited number

of entities approved by the FBI to submit fingerprints to the FBI

and receive the results on behalf of an organization using that

information for authorized non-criminal justice purposes (e.g.,

employment suitability, licensing determinations, etc.). The FBI

reviews and approves all outsourced channeling relationships

consistent with its outsourcing standards and protocols. As outlined

in the March 6, 2006 letters from the FBI's National Crime

Prevention and Privacy Compact Council Office (``CCO Letters''), the

FBI has reviewed and conditionally granted permission to CBOE to use

a specified FBI-Approved Channel Partner contingent upon CBOE filing

a fingerprint plan with the Commission and the Commission declaring

that fingerprint plan effective. See CCO Letters, available at

https://www.cboe.com/markets/us/options/memberships (under

Fingerprint Process Information). The terms of the CCO Letters are

incorporated by reference in the Plan. See Exhibit A at 1, n.2.

\7\ See also infra Section 2.

\8\ See also infra Section 3.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the reasons discussed below, the Commission finds that,

pursuant to Rule 17f-2(c) of the Act, the Plan is not inconsistent with

the public interest and the protection of investors and, therefore,

declares the Plan to be effective.

1. Applicable Standard

Section 17(f)(2) of the Act provides, in pertinent part, that

``every member of a national securities exchange, broker, dealer,

registered transfer agent and registered clearing agency . . . and

national securities association shall require that each of its

partners, directors, officers, and employees be fingerprinted and shall

submit such fingerprints, or cause the same to be submitted, to the

Attorney General of the United States for identification and

appropriate processing.'' \9\ However, in accordance with Rule 17f-

2(c), the fingerprinting requirement of Section 17(f)(2) may be

satisfied by submitting appropriate and complete fingerprint cards to,

among others, a registered national securities exchange which, pursuant

to a plan filed with and declared effective by the Commission, forwards

such fingerprint cards to the Attorney General or its designee for

identification and appropriate processing.\10\ Under Rule 17f-2(c),

such a fingerprinting plan--like Cboe Exchange, Inc.'s 2002 Fingerprint

Plan and this Plan--shall not become effective unless it is declared

effective by the Commission, which requires the Commission to find that

the plan is ``not inconsistent with the public interest or the

protection of investors.'' \11\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\9\ 15 U.S.C. 78q(f)(2). Hereinafter, ``Attorney General of the

United States'' referred to as ``Attorney General.''

\10\ 17 CFR 240.17f-2(c).

\11\ See id. The Commission may also impose any terms and

conditions relating to the provisions of the plan and the period of

its effectiveness as it may deem necessary or appropriate in the

public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise in

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. See id.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CBOE states that the purpose of the Plan is to facilitate

compliance with Section 17(f)(2) of the Act by providing a program for

Exchange members, Exchange member applicants, and the Exchange to have

the fingerprints of their partners, directors, officers, and employees

processed by the Attorney General.\12\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\12\ See Exhibit A at 1.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Exchange Personnel

Under the 2002 Fingerprint Plan, Cboe Exchange, Inc. facilitates

its own, as well as securities industry participants', compliance with

fingerprinting requirements under Section 17(f)(2) of the Act by

directly channeling to the FBI fingerprints submitted by required

individuals.\13\ However, under the Plan, the Exchange will partner

with an FBI-Approved Channel Partner to process fingerprints and

identifying information from Exchange Personnel who are required to be

fingerprinted under Section 17(f)(2) of the Act.\14\ The FBI-Approved

Channel Partner will offer state-of-the-art fingerprint services to

CBOE that include collecting fingerprints at locations nationwide.\15\

The FBI-Approved Channel Partner will fingerprint Exchange Personnel or

accept fingerprints of Exchange Personnel (either in electronic or hard

copy format) and will submit such fingerprints to the Attorney General

for processing consistent with the protocols and requirements

established by the Attorney General.\16\ The FBI-Approved Channel

Partner will track the fingerprints' status and securely make both the

statuses and results available to the Exchange.\17\ CBOE will make

those results available to authorized recipients, consistent with

protocols and requirements established by the Attorney General, and

will evaluate the fingerprint results and take any appropriate

action.\18\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\13\ See CBOE Letter at 2. Cboe Exchange, Inc. utilizes a Live-

Scan electronic system for the taking of fingerprints and can also

manually take fingerprints and receive manually taken fingerprint

cards. See id.

\14\ See Exhibit A at 1.

\15\ See Cboe Letter at 3.

\16\ See Exhibit A at 1.

\17\ See CBOE Letter at 3.

\18\ See Exhibit A at 2.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Member Personnel

Under the Plan, CBOE will continue its arrangement with FINRA to

permit Member Personnel to be electronically registered with the

Exchange through FINRA's Web Central Registration Depository (``Web

CRD'') and have their fingerprints processed and submitted to the FBI

through the facilities of FINRA.\19\ Specifically, all persons who are

seeking registration with the Exchange or are currently registered with

the Exchange submit fingerprint cards or fingerprint results to FINRA,

which then forwards the fingerprints to the Attorney General.\20\ The

Attorney General identifies submitted fingerprints, retrieves relevant

criminal history information, and returns fingerprint reports to

FINRA.\21\ The status of the fingerprint submissions of Member

Personnel and the results of the processed fingerprints (including

relevant criminal history, if any) will continue to be maintained

through Web CRD.\22\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\19\ See CBOE Letter at 3-4. The Web CRD is operated by FINRA

and is used by participating regulators in connection with

registering and licensing broker-dealers and their associated

persons. See Exhibit A at 2.

\20\ See Exhibit A at 2.

\21\ See id.

\22\ See CBOE Letter at 4.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FINRA notifies the Exchange if the fingerprint results received by

FINRA contain information indicating that the person is subject to a

statutory disqualification.\23\ In such an instance, the Exchange

reviews the fingerprint results to determine the possible

[[Page 35285]]

existence of a statutory disqualification as defined in Section

3(a)(39) of the Act, and takes appropriate action, if necessary,

concerning eligibility or continued eligibility of the individual for

employment or association with an Exchange member.\24\ Accordingly,

CBOE will continue to review the fingerprint results to fulfill its

regulatory responsibilities, store those results in the Web CRD

systems, and make them available to other regulators that are

authorized to view the results.\25\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\23\ See Exhibit A at 2.

\24\ See id.

\25\ See CBOE Letter at 4. CBOE states that it reviews

fingerprint results to ensure that applicants for registration have

reported appropriately information responsive to the questions on

Form U4 (the Uniform Application for Securities Industry

Registration or Transfer) relating to criminal history and to

identify whether any broker-dealer personnel required to be

fingerprinted is subject to a statutory disqualification under the

Act based upon a criminal conviction. See id. at 4, n.9.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Commission's Declaration of Effectiveness of the Plan

In accordance with Rule 17f-2(c) of the Act,\26\ the Commission has

reviewed the procedures in the Plan and concludes that the Plan is not

inconsistent with the public interest and the protection of investors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\26\ 17 CFR 240.17f-2(c).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CBOE states its partnership with the FBI-Approved Channel Partner

will enable it to continue to fulfill the requirement under Section

17(f)(2) of the Act to perform fingerprint-based background checks on

Exchange Personnel. CBOE also states that performing these checks will

enable the Exchange to identify persons with criminal convictions who

may pose a threat to the safety of Exchange Personnel or the security

of exchange facilities and records, and will help ensure CBOE's ability

to protect investors and market integrity.\27\ In addition, CBOE states

that it will maintain its arrangement with FINRA to provide a facility

for Member Personnel to have fingerprints submitted and processed,

enabling it to satisfy fingerprinting requirements under Section

17(f)(2)of the Act. CBOE also states that it will continue to fulfill

its critical regulatory and investor protection responsibilities,

including the identification of Member Personnel required to be

fingerprinted who may be subject to a statutory disqualification based

on a criminal conviction.\28\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\27\ See CBOE Letter at 3.

\28\ See id. at 4.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Commission agrees with CBOE that these statutorily-mandated

fingerprint-based background checks by an FBI-Approved Channel Partner

under this Plan will continue to help protect investors and serve the

public interest. Based on the foregoing, the Commission finds that,

pursuant to Rule 17f-2(c) of the Act, the Plan is not inconsistent with

the public interest and the protection of investors and, therefore,

declares the Plan to be effective.

For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,

pursuant to delegated authority.\29\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\29\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(17)(iii).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.

Exhibit A

Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Cboe C2 Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BZX Exchange,

Inc.; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc.; and Cboe BYX

Exchange, Inc.

Fingerprint Plan

Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Cboe C2 Exchange, Inc.; Cboe BZX Exchange,

Inc.; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc.; and Cboe BYX

Exchange, Inc. (collectively, the ``Exchange'') submit this fingerprint

plan (``Plan'') pursuant to Rule 17f-2(c) under the Securities Exchange

Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act''). This Plan supersedes and replaces Cboe

Exchange, Inc.'s current fingerprint plan, which was declared effective

by the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') on December

19, 2002 (the ``2002 Fingerprint Plan'').\1\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 46467A (December 19,

2002), 67 FR 79195 (December 27, 2002) (Approval of Chicago Board

Options Exchange, Inc. Fingerprint Plan). Pursuant to the 2002

Fingerprint Plan, the Exchange channels fingerprints for, among

others, individual partners, directors, officers, and employees of

Exchange members and Exchange member applicants. The Exchange will

continue to channel fingerprints for these personnel consistent with

the 2002 Fingerprint Plan until the new fingerprinting process set

forth in the Plan is fully implemented.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The purpose of this Plan is to facilitate compliance with Section

17(f)(2) of the Exchange Act by providing a program for Exchange

members, Exchange member applicants, and the Exchange to have the

fingerprints of their partners, directors, officers, and employees

processed by the Attorney General of the United States or its designee

(hereinafter ``Attorney General'').

1. Exchange Personnel

The Exchange is partnering with an FBI-approved private channeler

(``FBI-Approved Channel Partner'') \2\ to process fingerprints and

identifying information from Exchange personnel who are required to be

fingerprinted under Exchange Act Section 17(f)(2). The FBI-Approved

Channel Partner fingerprints such personnel or accepts fingerprints of

such personnel (either in electronic or hard copy format) and submits

such fingerprints to the Attorney General for processing consistent

with protocols and requirements established by the Attorney General.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\2\ The FBI-Approved Channel Partner is one of a limited number

of entities approved by the FBI to submit fingerprints to the FBI

and receive the results on behalf of an organization using that

information for authorized non-criminal justice purposes (e.g.,

employment suitability, licensing determinations, etc.). The FBI

reviews and approves all outsourced channeling relationships

consistent with its outsourcing standards and protocols. As outlined

in the March 6, 2026 letters from the FBI's National Crime

Prevention and Privacy Compact Council Office (``CCO Letters''), the

FBI has reviewed and conditionally granted permission to Cboe to use

a specified FBI- Approved Channel Partner contingent upon Cboe

filing a fingerprint plan with the Commission and the Commission

declaring that fingerprint plan effective. See CCO Letters,

available at https://www.cboe.com/markets/us/options/membership

(under Fingerprint Process Information) and https://www.cboe.com/markets/us/equities/membership (under Fingerprint Process

Information). The terms of the CCO Letters are incorporated by

reference in the Plan.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Exchange will receive results from the FBI-Approved Channel

Partner after the fingerprints have been processed by the Attorney

General and makes those results available to authorized recipients,

consistent with protocols and requirements established by the Attorney

General. The Exchange evaluates the fingerprint results and takes any

appropriate action in accordance with the terms of the Associate

Handbook.

Copies of fingerprint processing results received from the Attorney

General with respect to fingerprints submitted by the FBI-Approved

Channel Partner pursuant to this Plan are maintained by the FBI-

Approved Channel Partner.

2. Exchange Members and Exchange Member Applicants

The Exchange has established an arrangement with the Financial

Industry Regulation Authority, Inc. (``FINRA''), to permit all

individuals that must be registered with, or approved by, the Exchange

(``registered persons'') to be electronically registered with the

Exchange through FINRA's Web Central Registration Depository (``Web

CRD''). The Web CRD is a Web-based system that provides broker-dealers

and their associated person with ``one-stop filing'' with the

Commission, FINRA and other self-regulatory organizations and

regulators. The Web CRD is operated by FINRA and is used by

participating regulators in connection with registering and licensing

broker-dealers and their associated persons.

[[Page 35286]]

In connection with the arrangement with FINRA, all persons who are

seeking registration with the Exchange or are currently registered with

the Exchange, submit fingerprint cards or fingerprint results to FINRA

for processing and/or submission to the Attorney General. The Attorney

General provides FINRA with fingerprint processing results for persons

seeking registration, and results are provided to the members. FINRA

notifies the Exchange if the fingerprint results received by FINRA

contain information indicating that the person is subject to a

statutory disqualification. In such an instance, the Exchange reviews

the fingerprint results to determine the possible existence of a

statutory disqualification as defined in section 3(a)(39) of the Act,

and takes appropriate action, if necessary, concerning eligibility or

continued eligibility of the individual for employment or association

with an Exchange member.

The Exchange advises its members and member applicants of any fees

charged in connection with processing of fingerprints pursuant to this

Plan. The Exchange will file any such Exchange member fees with the

Commission pursuant to section 19(b) of the Act.

Any copies of fingerprint reports received from the Attorney

General with respect to fingerprints submitted by the Exchange pursuant

to this Plan will be maintained by the Exchange in accordance with the

Exchange's record retention obligations under the Act. Any maintenance

of fingerprint records by the Exchange shall be for the Exchange's own

administrative purposes, and the Exchange is not undertaking to

maintain fingerprint records on behalf of Exchange members pursuant to

Rule 17f-2(d)(2).

The Exchange shall not be liable for losses or damages of any kind

in connection with the fingerprint services, as a result of a failure

to properly follow the procedures described above, or as a result of

lost or delayed fingerprint cards, fingerprint records, or fingerprint

processing results, or as a result of any action by the Exchange or the

Exchange's failure to take action in connection with this Plan.

[FR Doc. 2026-11570 Filed 6-9-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P