D.C. Circuit Vacates SEC Pilot Program For NMS Stocks

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ("D.C. Circuit") granted a petition for review and vacated SEC Rule 610T of Regulation NMS ("National Market Systems") and a related "Pilot Program" designed to test the effects of certain fees and rebate pricing models on the market.

As  previously covered, SEC Rule 610T established a "Pilot Program" that created two test groups of national securities exchanges. Under the Pilot Program, one group of exchanges was barred "from offering rebates and linked pricing" under the current transaction fee cap of $0.0030, and the other group was limited to a transaction fee cap of $0.0010. The SEC intended the Pilot Program to collect data on the fees charged and rebates provided to broker-dealers to inform the SEC as to potential future regulatory actions regarding the NMS.