On December 24, 2015, the Depository Trust Company (DTC) filed an immediately effective rule change with the SEC that adds a new fee to the DTC's fee schedule. The new fee, known as the Corporate Actions Eligibility Fee, will be charged to transfer agents of any DTC-eligible issue when the transfer agent gives notice to DTC of a corporate action with respect to the security that requires DTC to make a new CUSIP number eligible for DTC services.

The amount of the new fee is $1,000 per new CUSIP for any security that is made eligible at DTC in connection with a corporate action. For example, in the case of an issue of DTC-eligible common stock under CUSIP W which undergoes a reverse split, with the newly-denominated common stock issued under CUSIP X, the transfer agent for that security would be charged $1,000 for the processing of the reverse split. If the same issuer later undergoes a reorganization involving the exchange of the common stock under CUSIP X for common and preferred stock under CUSIPS Y and Z, respectively, the transfer agent would be charged $2,000 in connection with the exchange (the sum of a $1,000 fee relating to the issuance of CUSIP Y and a $1,000 fee relating to the issuance of CUSIP Z).

The implementation date of the rule change was January 1, 2016. The SEC has 60 days from the filing of the rule change to temporarily suspend the rule change and is accepting comments until January 27, 2016.