The following Letter Type K, or variations thereof, was submitted by individuals or entities.

Letter Type K:

This message is being sent in strong objection to the proposed rule change by the OCC listed in the above subject line. The fact that such a rule can even be proposed is completely ridiculous and beyond comprehension. Margin requirements exists for a reason! I see no reason why a margin should be reduced to accommodate financial institutions that placed bad bets in the stock market, and need a way out. The SEC continuously talk about fair and efficient markets, yet the public perception of the US market is that it is nothing more than rigged system which is a rightfully deserved perception. Allowing such a proposal to be passed would further cement the perception of a biased and unfair market.
The margin requirements should be increased and enforced. Too many times these so called Self Regulatory Authorities are allowed to propose and change rules to benefit themselves at cost to retail.
The fact that Self regulation exists is laughable. Wallstreet institutions have proven time and time again they can't be trusted. It's time to send a clear message and the message is "There will be accountability" Margin requirements will not and should not be waived as this gives the perception of Too big to fail. A much hated statement by the general public/ retail. If one member defaulting puts the entire OCC at risk then simply put they are not doing a good job of regulating themselves and need to face the consequences.
The proposal should be rejected in its entirety and clearing members should be forced to face the consequences of their actions.
As a retail investor who has very little tolerance left for the so called (SRO) I am tired of seeing fines that do not even come close to being a deterrent for the irresponsible actions of multiple if not all Wallstreet institutions.
Examples being marking shorts as longs, Numerous and insane amounts of FTD's just to name a couple.
Furthermore FINRA another Regulatory Authority that appears to be self regulatiing and completely useless needs to abolish the Acceptance waiver and consent.
No one should be allowed to use this as a way to avoid prosecution.
No one believes that these violations are accidental in nature.
Violations should be referred to the DOJ or other authorities for prosecution.
No private entities or SRO should be responsible for regulatory functions in any aspect of the finance sector. It should be clearly evident that this is a huge part of the financial markets.
FYI This is why so many people leave the US stock market for crypto. Saying that crypto is rife with fraud when you have entities like the OCC asking to waive margin requirements to save themselves at the expense of other market participants (retail) comes off as extremely hypocritical.
I'll spare you my thoughts on your so called market makers. We all know they come off more like market manipulators.