[ by Howard Haykin ]

FINRA has revised FINRA Rule 7730(b)(3) to waive certain specified late trade reporting fees applicable to Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine ("TRACE").   The underlying reason for the change is the disruption in normal business operations caused by Hurricane Sandy.  The rule change, which became effective today, 11/26/12, does not make any changes to the text of FINRA rules.

Reporting Transactions in TRACE-Eligible Securities.   FINRA Rule 6730(a) governs the timeframe for reporting transactions in TRACE-Eligible Securities - as defined in FINRA Rule 6710(a).  FINRA Rule 7730(b) sets forth the charges to be assessed against each member responsible for reporting such transactions, providing that members shall be charged a $3.00 per transaction late fee for those transactions that are not timely reported “as/of” as required by the FINRA Rule 6700 Series.

Criteria for Waiving Fees.   FINRA will waive such TRACE late trade reporting fees if:

• a firm in an area affected by Sandy reported certain transactions in TRACE-Eligible Securities late. 
• trades were executed on Monday, 10/29/12, or Tuesday, 10/30/12;
• firms that have their fixed income operations in the affected areas;
• affected firms must have reported the transactions no later than Wednesday, 10/31/12 by the TRACE system closing. 
• As noted in Item 2 of this filing, FINRA has filed the proposed rule change for immediate effectiveness.

For further details, go to:   [ FINRA Rule Filing 12-51, 12/26/12 ].