SIFMA Applauds Revised SEC Consolidated Audit Trail Rule

Release Date: July 11, 2012
Contact: Andrew DeSouza, 202.962.7390, [email protected]

Washington, D.C., July 11, 2012—SIFMA today released the following statement from Executive Vice President Randy Snook after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a final rule requiring the SROs to establish a consolidated audit trail.

“SIFMA has long supported the SEC’s efforts to provide regulators with timely access to a more robust and effective cross-market order and execution audit trail. We believe that a centralized and comprehensive audit trail would enable the SEC and securities SROs to perform their monitoring, enforcement and regulatory activities more effectively.

“The revisions the SEC has made since their original proposal strengthen and enhance the establishment of a consolidated audit trail.  Most importantly, the SEC has moved away from a real-time reporting regime, in favor of a next day reporting scheme. SIFMA and our member firms believe that this is a more manageable and cost-effective approach to this kind of system. We look forward to working with the SEC, the SROs and our members to ensure the necessary infrastructure and systems are cost effectively implemented so that this long overdue regulatory tool is put in place.”

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The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) brings together the shared interests of hundreds of securities firms, banks and asset managers. SIFMA’s mission is to support a strong financial industry, investor opportunity, capital formation, job creation and economic growth, while building trust and confidence in the financial markets. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.