[ by Howard Haykin ] The following was issued Wednesday, in a FINRA News Release:

The SEC's adoption of a consolidated audit trail through the development of a National Market System (NMS) plan is an important step that will enhance regulators' ability to conduct surveillance of trading activity across multiple markets and perform market reconstruction and analysis.  FINRA looks forward to working with the other SROs to submit an NMS plan that will help close the regulatory data gaps that exist today.  FINRA believes that comprehensive intermarket surveillance is essential to ensuring the overall integrity of the U.S. securities markets and maintaining the confidence of investors in those markets.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States.  FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services.  FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business - from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms, writing rules, enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws, informing and educating the investing public, providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms. For more information, please visit www.finra.org.

[FINRA News Release, 7/11/12]