Supplemental Request for Immediate Extension of Tick Size and Access Fee Compliance Dates

Summary

SIFMA provided supplemental comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reiterate our request that the SEC take immediate action to issue an order extending the compliance dates of the amendments to Rules 612 (minimum quoting increment/tick size) and 610(c) (access fee caps) of Regulation NMS (Reg NMS) the Commission adopted in September 2024.

Excerpt

Executive Summary

In SIFMA’s original letter, we discussed the timely need for this delay as well as potential methodological refinements to Rules 610 and 612, given the Commission’s ongoing Rule 611 review and the interconnected nature of these rules to Rule 611. We are reiterating the urgency of our request based on the industry-wide need for a delay in the current implementation deadline. Our justifications for the delay include:

• The implementation deadline for Rules 612 and 610(c) should be aligned with changes to Rule 611, as all of these rules are closely interconnected.
• The uncertainty and potential duplicative work is an industry-wide concern, for the buyside, sellside, exchanges, market data vendors, and OMS/EMS providers.
• The uncertainty around the final state of Rules 610 and 612 has international impacts as well, as many NYSE/Nasdaq-listed securities are dual listed in Canada (i.e., inter-listed stocks).
• Many open questions remain unaddressed from the (then) proposed changes to Rules 610 and 612, some of which require SEC guidance.
• Market participants are beginning implementation work now with about six months remaining until the November 2, 2026 deadline and need to queue that work with other regulatorily mandated implementation deadlines in 2026.

Implementation Deadline for Rules 612 and 610(c) Should Be Immediately Delayed and Aligned with Changes to Rule 611

We respectfully renew our request that the Commission act now to extend the approaching November 2, 2026 compliance date for Rules 610 and 612 until after it has completed its ongoing review of Rule 611. All three of these rules are closely connected. Rules 611 and 610 are directly correlated, as discussed at both of the Commission’s roundtables reviewing Rule 611. Similarly, Rules 610 and 612 are also directly correlated, as noted by the Commission in the adopting release for changes to Rules 610 and 612. Therefore, if the Commission proceeds with proposing amendments to, or rescinding, Rule 611, corresponding changes to access fee caps (Rule 610(c)) and tick sizes (Rule 612) likely will also be necessary.

To comply with the amendments to Rules 610(c) and 612 by November 2, 2026, market participants will need to make significant updates to their existing processes and technology systems, which will require time, capital, and labor to successfully complete. If the Commission’s Rule 611 review results in additional corresponding changes to Rules 610 and 612, the industry would be forced to make a second round of new changes to the exact same processes and systems, incurring significant duplicative costs and creating potential investor confusion. For example, if the November 2 deadline is not extended, the industry will take all the steps necessary to implement an access fee cap of 10 mils ($0.001 per share). If the SEC were then to repeal or modify Rule 611 and in connection with that action determined that an access fee cap is not necessary, the industry would have dedicated time, resources, and costs toward a fee cap reduction that ended up being unnecessary.