FINRA Regulatory Notice 24-05

FINRA Adopts Amendments to Improve the Accessibility of Order Routing Disclosures for NMS Securities

Background and Discussion

Exchange Act Rule 606(a) was implemented by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promote transparency in the securities industry. Under this rule, broker-dealers are required to disclose certain details regarding their order routing practices for NMS (National Market System) securities on a quarterly basis. These disclosures must be published within one month after the end of the quarter the report covers.

New FINRA Rule 6151 will take effect on June 30, 2024 and will require broker-dealers to submit to FINRA for centralized publication the order routing reports required under Rule 606(a). As such, broker-dealers will be required to submit their Q2 2024 Rule 606(a) reports to FINRA no later than July 31, 2024.

Process for Submission of Rule 606(a) Reports

The process for submitting Rule 606(a) Reports can be done either through the FINRA Gateway or using the fileX machine-to-machine interface.

To manually submit the report through the FINRA Gateway, firms need to log in to the system and navigate to the Rule 606(a) Report submission section. They can then upload the required report file in the designated format. This option allows for a straightforward and user-friendly submission process.

Alternatively, firms can choose to submit the report using the fileX machine-to-machine interface. This requires establishing a connection with the FINRA fileX system. Firms can contact the FINRA Support Group to establish the necessary access for fileX submission. The support group will provide the instructions and assistance required to set up and configure the fileX interface.