On July 28, MFA submitted comments in response to the SEC’s suspension of and order instituting proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove proposed rule changes to establish fees for industry members to fund the consolidated audit trail (CAT). MFA was pleased that the SEC temporarily suspended proposed rules by self-regulatory organizations regarding the CAT funding model. MFA’s letter continued to raise concerns with the process for developing the CAT funding model and the CAT funding model. MFA urged the SEC to address the governance process for establishing CAT fee by incorporating safeguards to address conflicts of interest; and emphasized the importance for the SEC to conduct a thorough and ongoing analysis of the CAT, including a review of the real costs to build and operate the CAT, the terms of the contract between the CAT NMS Plan Participants and Thesys Technologies, LLC to build and operate the CAT, and the usage costs for CAT when it is built and operable.
