On February 8, 2021, FIA PTG submitted a letter to the SEC encouraging the Commission to reject an amendment to the National Market System Plan governing the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). The proposed amendment seeks to require market participants required to report to the CAT to sign an agreement as a condition of reporting that would effectively absolve CAT LLC and the self-regulatory organizations that control the CAT of virtually all liability in the event of a breach or misuse of CAT data.
FIA PTG said that their members have invested substantial time and financial resources in the development of the trading systems and strategies that they use and would likely face tremendous monetary losses and potentially lose their ability to act as liquidity providers should sensitive information from the reporting of their trades be compromised. Accordingly, they believe their members should not be required to waive their rights around potential recovery of damages simply to comply with a trade reporting requirement.
