New York, NY, January 18, 2017 – SIFMA today released the following statement from Randy Snook, executive vice president, business policies and practices, after the self-regulatory organizations (SROs) selected Thesys Technologies LLC to operate the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) system pursuant to the National Market System Plan mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission:

“The selection of a CAT processor marks a critical step in the development of the CAT. We congratulate Thesys on the appointment and remain committed to sharing the industry’s insight and expertise on how to effectively implement such a comprehensive system in the marketplace today.

“The development of the CAT presents a singular opportunity to build a state-of-the-art regulatory system that can enhance regulatory oversight while replacing redundant, legacy reporting systems that require significant resources to operate. The timely elimination of redundant regulatory requirements, robust data security practices and the establishment of an equitable funding model are mission critical to establishing a CAT system that enhances regulatory oversight without adding unnecessary complexity or risk.”

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SIFMA is the voice of the U.S. securities industry. We represent the broker-dealers, banks and asset managers whose nearly 1 million employees provide access to the capital markets, raising over $2.5 trillion for businesses and municipalities in the U.S., serving clients with over $18.5 trillion in assets and managing more than $67 trillion in assets for individual and institutional clients including mutual funds and retirement plans. 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.