
By Ralph Magee
Subscribe to our original industry insightsThe first implementation phase of CAT reporting is fast approaching. Industry members will begin reporting equity transactions in Phase 2a on April 20th and Options transactions in Phase 2b on May 18th.
The initial reporting requirements are relatively straightforward and limited to syntax validation designed to meet the published FINRA Technical Specification. The planned phased implementation of CAT reporting will continue throughout the remainder of 2020 and will require Industry Members to link order events first within a firm, progressing to linking with external counterparties, and then finally linking order events with Exchange data.
Some firms who have multiple CAT reporting agents are considering the use of a consolidation service to report for them or assist with oversight and testing. Regardless of the individual reporting methods, all Industry members are encouraged to take advantage of this testing window and many will need this time to prepare for the Production Readiness Certification required to gain access to the CAT reporting environment before April 6th. It should be noted that full functionality in the FINRA CAT portal will not be available until late February, so early testing should help firms meet the aggressive timelines.
Oyster can help you assess how your firm is positioned for CAT readiness, manage your requirements assessment and implementation phases, interface with your own technology providers, and assist you in determining what and how your technology providers will report for you. We can also assist in testing data scenarios and data linkage, as well as creating an error repair process. Firms can also leverage Oyster testing tools to gather and analyze reported data and errors.
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