FINRA released a new edition of the OATS Reporting Technical Specifications, dated 4/16/12.  This latest edition contains a new Unmatched Reason Code in Appendix B related to Exchange Routes that OATS was unable to match to the related order in a NASDAQ or NYSE exchange because the Connection ID on the OATS Route Report did not match the Connection ID on the related exchange order. As provided in Section 6.6 of the OATS Reporting Technical Specifications, Connection ID is one of 5 fields used in the OATS matching process when matching an OATS Route Report to the related order in an exchange.  Since the OATS for NMS expansion became effective, OATS has monitored firms’ use of the Connection ID but has not marked any Routes as unmatched due only to Connection ID.  Based on FINRA’s review of firms’ recent performance, it appears most firms are correctly using the Connection ID when applicable. Therefore, beginning 4/30.12, FINRA will begin marking as unmatched any Route to a NASDAQ or NYSE exchange where the Connection ID on the OATS Route Report does not match the Connection ID on the related exchange order. Unmatched Routes due to this reason will appear on the OATS website with the new Unmatched Reason Code of 4016 "Connection ID did not match."  The new Unmatched Reason Code will begin appearing in the OATS Production environment on 4/30 and in the OATS Certificate Test environment on 4/23.

What the OATS Tech Specs Are and Aren't. The OATS Reporting Technical Specifications is not intended to provide information about how to develop an electronic system that reports order information; it is only intended to describe what such a system must deliver to FINRA.

The OATS Reporting Technical Specifications document covers the requirements and procedures for:

• clock synchronization;
• system access requirements for supplying OATS files to FINRA;
• order reporting scenarios that describe, from a business perspective, responsibilities for reporting to OATS;
• details regarding the required layout of OATS files;
• procedures for providing corrections to OATS data and for receiving feedback from FINRA; and,
• procedures for registration, self administration, and testing and certification.
• It also contains a data dictionary that describes all of the data elements in OATS files; a list of report formats, including field names, data types, and lists of permissible values; examples of order reports; and a glossary.

Click to view :

[FINRA Announcement, 4/16/12] [OATS Reporting Technical Specifications (4/16/12 pdf edition)] [FINRA Archive of Past Specs]

For Help. Contact FINRA Business and Technology Support Services  1- 800-321-6273.