Exam Alert: FINRA Revises OATS, ORF, and ADF/TRF Trade Reporting Rules

FINRA is revising the trade reporting rules for the Order Audit Trail System (OATS) and for FINRA facilities. The changes require… Continue reading

FINRA is revising the trade reporting rules for the Order Audit Trail System (OATS) and for FINRA facilities. The changes require:

  • reporting additional times for certain transactions
  • expressing trade times in milliseconds
  • linking reversal reports to the original trade
  • reporting trades on non-business days and trades that are over a year old to FINRA facilities
  • using a new “step-in” indicator (when a firm takes over a position from another firm)
  • keeping declined trades in the system so they may still be cancelled, corrected, or accepted

Effective April 7, 2014, FINRA has modified the rules for the Order Audit Trail System (OATS).

Effective September 15, 2014, FINRA will modify the rules for the OTC Reporting Facility (ORF).

Effective September 29, 2014, FINRA will require firms to report the time of trades in milliseconds when reporting to the Alternative Display Facility (ADF) or to Trade Reporting Facilities (TRFs).

FINRA will implement the other changes to ADF and TRF reporting rules in the first quarter of 2015.

Source: FINRA Regulatory Notice 14-21: SEC Approves Amendments to Equity Trade Reporting and OATS Rules

This alert applies to the Series 7, Series 24, Series 55, and Series 62.

Exam Alert: FINRA Revises ADF Market Participant Registration Rules

Effective February 3, 2014, FINRA has implemented changes to the requirements for registering as an Alternative Display Facility (ADF) market participant. An applying firm must now agree to submit an ADF Deposit Amount, execute a Participant Agreement with FINRA, and execute a Certification Record. Continue reading

Effective February 3, 2014, FINRA has implemented changes to the requirements for registering as an Alternative Display Facility (ADF) market participant. An applying firm must now agree to submit an ADF Deposit Amount of $250,000 into escrow (raised to $500,000 under certain conditions). The firm may lose some of the deposit if they fail to submit at least 75% of its quoting or trading volume to the ADF. The firm must also provide monthly projections of the volume of data it expects to submit to the ADF.

The rule provides for ways to earn back the deposit. The rule also specifies what happens to the deposit if the firm is sold, stops doing business, or fails to become or remain an ADF market participant.

A firm seeking registration as an ADF market participant must also execute a Participant Agreement with FINRA and execute a Certification Record. The Certification Record has the firm attest that it can comply with certain requirements of Regulation NMS.

Source: FINRA Regulatory Notice 14-04: SEC Approves Amendments to FINRA Rules 6271 and 6272 Regarding the Requirements For Firms Seeking Registration as FINRA Alternative Display Facility (ADF) Market Participants

This alert applies to the Series 7, Series 55, and Series 62.