17 CFR PART 242 - Consolidated Audit Trail

• Date: June 06, 2010
• Source: www.sec.gov

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is proposing new Rule 613 under Section 11A(a)(3)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) that would require national securities exchanges and national securities associations (“self-regulatory organizations” or “SROs”) to act jointly in developing a national market system (“NMS”) plan to develop, implement, and maintain a consolidated order tracking system, or consolidated audit trail, with respect to the trading of NMS securities.

The Commission preliminarily believes that with today’s electronic, interconnected markets, there is a heightened need for regulators to have efficient access to a more robust and effective cross-market order and execution tracking system. Currently, many of the national securities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) have audit trail rules and systems to track information relating to orders received and executed, or otherwise handled, in their respective markets. While the information gathered from these audit trail systems aids the SRO and Commission staff in their regulatory responsibility to surveil for compliance with SRO rules and the federal securities laws and regulations, the Commission preliminarily believes that existing audit trails are limited in their scope and effectiveness in varying ways. In addition, while the SRO and Commission staff also currently receive information about orders or trades through the electronic bluesheet (“EBS”) system, Rule 17a-25 under the Exchange Act,1 or from equity cleared reports, the information is limited, to varying degrees, in detail and scope.

A consolidated audit trail would significantly aid in SRO efforts to detect and deter fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in the marketplace, and generally to regulate their markets and members. In addition, such an audit trail would benefit the Commission in its market analysis efforts, such as investigating and preparing market reconstructions and understanding causes of unusual market activity. Further, timely pursuit of potential violations can be important in seeking to freeze and recover any profits received from illegal activity.

DATES: Comments should be received on or before August 9, 2010.

 

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