SEC Grants Temporary Rule Exemption Regarding Establishment of a Consolidated Audit Trail (with Lofchie Comment)
The SEC approved a temporary exemption from the deadline for filing the Consolidated Audit Trail ("CAT") National Market System ("NMS") Plan pursuant to Rule 613(a)(1) of Regulation NMS ("Consolidated Audit Trail"). Under the temporary exemption, SROs do not have to submit the NMS plan to govern the creation, implementation and maintenance of a CAT and central repository. The SEC stated that granting the exemption is appropriate in light of the need for the SROs to establish a deadline for finalizing and submitting bids to the request for the proposal.
The exemption will expire on September 30, 2014.
Lofchie Comment: The SEC might reasonably use the delay itself to reconsider whether the establishment of the audit trail is a worthwhile expenditure in light of the myriad of new regulatory burdens to which firms have become subject under Dodd-Frank. The system is only going to bear so much weight.