SEC Delays FINRA Rule Change Regarding Quotation Requirements for Unlisted Equity Securities (Fed. Reg.)

The SEC issued a Notice of Designation of Longer Period for Commission Action regarding a FINRA-proposed rule change relating to quotation requirements for unlisted equity securities and deletion of the rules related to the OTC Bulletin Board Service. The Notice was published in the Federal Register.

The proposed rule change would adopt rules that:

• govern the treatment of quotations in OTC equity securities by member inter-dealer quotation systems and address "fair and non-discriminatory access" to such systems;
• require member inter-dealer quotation systems to provide FINRA with a written description of quotation-related data products offered and related pricing information including fees, rebates, discounts and cross-product pricing incentives;
• expand the reporting requirements related to quotation information in OTC equity securities; and
• delete the FINRA Rule 6500 Series and related rules, thereby ceasing the operation of the OTC Bulletin Board Service.

The SEC stated that it believes that the proposed rules raise questions as to whether it is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 15A(b)(6), Section 15A(b)(11) and Section 17B. The SEC requested that interested persons provide comments on the proposed rule by March 12, 2015.

See: 80 FR 2142.Related news: SEC Institutes Proceedings on FINRA-Proposed Rule Relating to Quotation Requirements for Unlisted Equity Securities and Deletion of OTC Bulletin Board Service Rules (Fed. Reg.) (October 13, 2014); FINRA Proposes Rule Amendments Relating to Quotation Requirements for Unlisted Equity Securities and Deletion of OTC Bulletin Board Service Rules (Fed. Reg.) (July 15, 2014).