FINRA Proposal Reduces Trade Report Time

On February 1, 2013, FINRA proposed a rule change that would require brokerage firms to report trades within 10 seconds rather than 30 seconds. The new rule change would apply to all equity transactions, including companies not listed on an exchange, and order cancellations. FINRA has proposed this rule to help ensure that trade data accurately reflects the current market.

Also in the filing, FINRA strengthened language to prohibit delays in trade reporting. FINRA also asked brokers to program systems to report trade executions immediately.

This rule change should not be difficult for firms. FINRA has said “more than 99% of transactions executed by brokers [away from the exchanges] already report within 10 seconds…and only 22 companies in a one-week period were unable to report to FINRA at least half of their eligible transactions within 10 seconds.”