FINRA to Implement New Fee to Recoup CAT Costs

FINRA proposed immediately effective rule amendments to implement a new fee aimed at recovering its portion of costs associated with the Consolidated Audit Trail ("CAT").

The proposal amends FINRA Rule 6897(b) ("Consolidated Audit Trail Funding Fees"). FINRA said the new fee applies to FINRA member firms acting as CAT Executing Brokers for off-exchange transactions in stocks and other eligible securities. FINRA said these brokers are to begin receiving monthly invoices in August 2025 for trades conducted in July 2025. FINRA said that each transaction incurred a fee of $0.000005 per executed equivalent share.

FINRA explained that the fee covers FINRA's estimated $7.27 million share of CAT costs between July 1 and December 31, 2025. These costs were part of the SEC-approved CAT Funding Model, which required both exchanges and industry members to help fund the system that tracks all orders and trades in US equity and options markets. FINRA based its fee on the same transaction data used to calculate fees owed by members to CAT LLC, ensuring alignment with the broader CAT Funding Model.