5.4. Trade Reporting Responsibilities

Once an order is made and a trade is completed, the broker or dealer on either end of the transaction generally has 15 minutes to report it to the MSRB’s automated matching and reporting system, called the Real-Time Transaction Reporting System (RTRS), developed in coordination with the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). Transaction information collected by the MSRB is used to provide trading activity and price information to the public and to assess transaction fees. The RTRS directs trading activity and prices to the SEC, the registered securities associations, and other regulatory agencies. These agencies use the information to assist them in their compliance inspections and enforcement of MSRB rules.

The RTRS is an electronic facility for the collection and dissemination of information about municipal transactions. It operates in coordination with the Real-Time Trade Matching System (RTTM), a trade comparison system operated by the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC). Both systems use a common format to prevent