NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services A member organization is a registered broker-dealer organized as a corporation, a partnership or an LLC, which is regulated by the Exchange. A member organization may, or may not, hold a trading license A floor broker, acting as agent, traditionally executes orders to buy or sell stocks on behalf of a client. Sometimes a floor broker may represent his or her firm’s proprietary account. “Direct access” to the market through floor-based, registered representatives of NYSE member firms also has become a very important function of NYSE floor brokers. The two main types of floor brokers are house brokers and independent brokers: House Brokers are employed by large, diversified broker-dealers. Broker-dealers were once called “investment houses” or “banking houses,” from which the term “house” broker is derived. The house broker executes orders on behalf of his or her firm’s customers or occasionally on behalf of his or her firm’s own account The NYSE operates the largest centralized bond market of any U.S. exchange or other self-regulatory organization. It offers investors a broad selection of bonds: corporate (including convertibles), agency and government bonds. The majority of NYSE bond volume is in corporate debt, with some 94% in straight, or non-convertible bonds, and 6% in convertible debt issues NYSE bonds trade through the Exchange's Automated Bond System® (ABS), a screen-based system used by NYSE member firm subscribers. ABS maintains and displays priced bond orders and matches those orders on a strict price and time priority basis. ABS reports real-time quotes and trades to market data vendors This summer, the NYSE will introduce a new corporate bond trading platform to replace ABS. Pending SEC approval, the new trading platform, which uses the design of the current NYSE Arca all-electronic trading platform, will provide a more efficient and transparent way to trade corporate bonds. NYSE Members will be able to enter orders to buy or sell bonds listed on the NYSE. Pending SEC approval, the system will be expanded to include the corporate bonds of all NYSE-listed companies and their subsidiaries without the companies having to list each bond issued. Once approved this exemption would expand the number of eligible bonds from approximately 1,000 today to nearly 5-6,000 in the future This summer, the NYSE will introduce a new corporate bond trading platform to replace ABS. Pending SEC approval, the new trading platform, which uses the design of the current NYSE Arca all-electronic trading platform, will provide a more efficient and transparent way to trade corporate bonds. NYSE Members will be able to enter orders to buy or sell bonds listed on the NYSE. Pending SEC approval, the system will be expanded to include the corporate bonds of all NYSE-listed companies and their subsidiaries without the companies having to list each bond issued. Once approved this exemption would expand the number of eligible bonds from approximately 1,000 today to nearly 5-6,000 in the future