Notice to Members
Notice No. 139
03/12/2008
Revised NYMEX ClearPort® Broker Incentive Program
NYMEX's original OTC Broker Incentive Program (Program) was adopted on March 24, 2003 to build liquidity on the NYMEX ClearPort® Clearing and Trading (i.e., execution) facilities and has been successful in doing so. To provide the Exchange with greater flexibility to keep pace with market developments, to promote the introduction of new products, and to demonstrate the Exchange's long-term commitment to its relationship with the broker intermediary community, the original terms under the Program may be modified from time to time as described herein. The Exchange has determined to modify the Program to promote each of the environmental products described in Notice to Members No. 08-69 dated February 25, 2008 (the Environmental Products) by providing for a larger payment for such Environmental Products submitted by a broker intermediary through NYMEX ClearPort® Clearing services for the six month period commencing on March 16, 2008 and ending on September 16, 2008. Additionally, please note that certain amendments to paragraphs 2 and 4 set forth below (and as further clarified herein) were approved by the Board of Directors and certified to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on October 12, 2007, with an effective date of October 15, 2007.
  1. Eligible Participants


    2. Intermediaries on the NYMEX ClearPort® execution and clearing systems respectively. Intermediaries, as described below, must physically enter orders or transactions into one of the NYMEX ClearPort® systems in order to be eligible for participation in the program.

    (a) Voice Brokers, Floor Brokers, Introducing Brokers, Associated Persons, and Futures Commission Merchants who submit matched trades to the NYMEX ClearPort® Clearing systems for third parties.

    (b) CFTC/NFA registrants who submit orders to, and which are executed on, the NYMEX ClearPort® Trading platform.
  2. Excluded Participants



    3. Principals who submit trades or executed orders for their own, or a proprietary, account, are excluded from participation in the Program. Eligible participants may be excluded if they engage in conduct deemed by the Exchange, in its sole discretion, to have an adverse effect on the Exchange, or otherwise to be harmful to the reputation or business of the Exchange, or otherwise to be contrary to the best interests of the Exchange.

  3. Excluded Platform(s)



    4. NYMEX ACCESS® and its successor with respect to any floor traded products are excluded from this program.

  4. Term
    5.


    Six (6) years commencing January 1, 2005. The term of the Program is subject to further amendment, in the sole discretion of the Exchange, including without limitation, the right to extend the term on such conditions and participant eligibility criteria as may be determined by the Exchange in its sole discretion.

  5. Payments
    6.
    (a) Payments shall be made quarterly.

    (b) For NYMEX ClearPort® clearing services, an intermediary (on behalf of a third party excluding proprietary accounts) submitting a matched trade, which clears successfully, will receive 25% of the net clearing fees charged by the Exchange. (For Environmental Products, from March 16, 2008 through September 16, 2008, the payment will be 50% of the net clearing fees charged by the Exchange for such Environmental Products, and after September 16, 2008, the payment percentage will be that which is applicable to other NYMEX products.) The Exchange in its sole discretion will decide any disputes arising about the identity or affiliation of the party entitled to the Program fee.

    (c) For NYMEX ClearPort® execution services, an intermediary (on behalf of a third party excluding proprietary accounts) submitting an order which is executed will receive 25% of the net clearing fees charged by the exchange for the transaction. In the event both orders to the executed trade were submitted by one or two intermediaries, each will receive 25% of the net fees.

    (d) Payments shall be made latest 30 days past the end of each quarter.

    (e) The Exchange retains the exclusive right to determine its fees. The percentages described above will not, however, be reduced by the Exchange during the term of the Program, provided that the Exchange retains the right to establish alternative fee payment percentages on a case by case basis based upon volume and other market commitment factors in the Exchange's sole discretion.
As part of this Program, all intermediaries shall continue to be required to provide the NYMEX Research Department with daily settlement data for those contracts that are requested. The Exchange reserves the right to withhold Program payments as described under this Notice from those participants that do not comply with the request for data.
Should you have any questions or require any further information, please contact exchangeinfo@nymex.com