Document ID: SEC-2020-2044-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Order: Temporary Exemptive Relief; National Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail
Posted Date: 2020-12-22T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83667-83671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28153]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-90689]

Order Granting Temporary Exemptive Relief, Pursuant to Section 36 
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') and Rule 
608(e) of Regulation NMS Under the Exchange Act, From Section 8.1.1 and 
Section 8.1.2 of Appendix D of the National Market System Plan 
Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail

December 16, 2020.

I. Introduction

    By letter dated December 1, 2020 (``Participant Letter''), BOX 
Exchange LLC, Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc., Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., Cboe C2 
Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc., 
Cboe Exchange, Inc., Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 
(``FINRA''), Investors Exchange LLC, Long-Term Stock Exchange, Inc., 
MEMX LLC, Miami International Securities Exchange LLC, MIAX Emerald, 
LLC, MIAX PEARL, LLC, NASDAQ BX, Inc., Nasdaq GEMX, LLC, Nasdaq ISE, 
LLC, Nasdaq MRX, LLC, NASDAQ PHLX LLC, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, New 
York Stock Exchange LLC, NYSE American LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., NYSE 
Chicago, Inc., and NYSE National, Inc. (collectively, the 
``Participants'') request that the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(the ``Commission''), pursuant to the Commission's authority under 
Section 36 of the Exchange Act \1\ and Rule 608(e) of Regulation NMS 
under the Exchange Act,\2\ grant exemptive relief from the national 
market system plan governing the

[[Page 83668]]

consolidated audit trail (the ``CAT NMS Plan'').\3\ Specifically, the 
Participants request that the Commission provide temporary exemptive 
relief from certain requirements of the CAT NMS Plan that relate to the 
online targeted query tool (``OTQT'') described in Section 6.10(c)(i) 
of the CAT NMS Plan.\4\
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78mm.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608(e).
    \3\ The Commission approved the CAT NMS Plan, as modified, on 
November 15, 2016. See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 79318 
(November 15, 2016), 81 FR 84696 (November 23, 2016) (``CAT NMS Plan 
Approval Order''). The CAT NMS Plan functions as the limited 
liability company agreement of the jointly owned limited liability 
company formed under Delaware state law through which the 
Participants conduct activities related to the consolidated audit 
trail (the ``Company'').
    \4\ See id. at Appendix D, Section 8.1.1. See also Letter from 
Michael Simon, CAT NMS Plan Operating Committee Chair, to Vanessa 
Countryman, Secretary, Commission, dated December 1, 2020, available 
at https://catnmsplan.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/12.01.20-CAT-Exemption-Request-OTQT.pdf (``Participant Letter''). The 
Participants state that this exemptive relief request amends and 
replaces in its entirety the request previously submitted to the 
Commission on November 16, 2020. See id. at 2 n.5.
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    For the reasons set forth below, this Order grants the 
Participants' request for temporary exemptive relief from the above-
described provisions of the CAT NMS Plan, subject to certain 
conditions.

II. Request for Relief

    In their letter, the Participants explain that Section 6.10(c)(i) 
of the CAT NMS Plan requires the Plan Processor \5\ to provide 
Participants and the Commission with access to all CAT Data \6\ stored 
in the Central Repository \7\ through three different methods: (1) The 
OTQT, (2) user-defined direct queries, and (3) and bulk extracts.\8\ 
Sections 8.1.1 and 8.1.2 of Appendix D of the CAT NMS Plan set forth 
certain functionality requirements for the OTQT from which the 
Participants seek relief.
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    \5\ ``Plan Processor'' is a defined term under the CAT NMS Plan 
and means ``the Initial Plan Processor or any other Person selected 
by the Operating Committee pursuant to SEC Rule 613 and Sections 
4.3(b)(i) and 6.1, and with regard to the Initial Plan Processor, 
the Selection Plan, to perform the CAT processing functions required 
by SEC Rule 613 and set forth in this Agreement.'' See CAT NMS Plan, 
supra note 3, at Section 1.1.
    \6\ ``CAT Data'' is a defined term under the CAT NMS Plan and 
means ``data derived from Participant Data, Industry Member Data, 
SIP Data, and such other data as the Operating Committee may 
designate as ``CAT Data'' from time to time.'' See id.
    \7\ ``Central Repository'' is a defined term under the CAT NMS 
Plan and means ``the repository responsible for the receipt, 
consolidation, and retention of all information reported to the CAT 
pursuant to SEC Rule 613 and this Agreement.'' See id.
    \8\ See Participant Letter, supra note 4, at 2; see also CAT NMS 
Plan, supra note 3, at Section 6.10(c)(i).
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A. Error Correction Rate Functionality

    The Participants state that the OTQT must ``provide authorized 
users with the ability to retrieve CAT Data via an online query screen 
that includes the ability to choose from a variety of pre-defined 
selection criteria,'' \9\ including, among other things, the ``CAT 
Reporter correction rate over time.'' \10\ The Participants request 
temporary exemptive relief from compliance with the requirement in 
Section 8.1.1 of Appendix D of the CAT NMS Plan that authorized users 
must be able to conduct targeted queries through the OTQT with respect 
to the CAT Reporter correction rate over time (the ``Error Correction 
Rate Functionality'').\11\ The Participants state that the Plan 
Processor needs additional time to incorporate the Error Correction 
Rate Functionality to the OTQT.\12\ Specifically, the Participants 
believe that regulators will able to perform searches with respect to 
the CAT Reporter correction rate over time by April 30, 2021.\13\ The 
Participants therefore request that any exemptive relief granted by the 
Commission with respect to the Error Correction Rate Functionality 
extend until April 30, 2021.\14\
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    \9\ See CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at 6.10(c)(i)(A).
    \10\ See id. at Appendix D, Section 8.1.1. See also Participant 
Letter, supra note 4, at 2.
    \11\ See Participant Letter, supra note 4, at 2-3. The 
Participants describe this functionality as ``Error Correction Time 
Functionality,'' but the Commission believes that the term ``Error 
Correction Rate Functionality'' more accurately describes the 
functionality.
    \12\ See Participant Letter, supra note 4, at 3.
    \13\ See id. at 3. The Participants note that this schedule 
would align the release of the Error Correction Rate Functionality 
with other functionality releases that will add data for OTQT 
queries concerning ``the new equity exchange order book and volume 
concentration using equity exchange data.'' See id. at 3.
    \14\ See id. at 2.
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    To support their request, the Participants state that the 
Participants and the Commission currently have access to ``a variety of 
fields of processed CAT Data and/or validated (unlinked) data'' via 
existing Plan Processor tools called DIVER and MIRS.\15\ The 
Participants further represent that, by December 2020, the Participants 
and the Commission will have access to information regarding the CAT 
Reporter correction rate over time for ``compliance review purposes'' 
either through the CAT Reporter Portal or through another existing Plan 
Processor tool called BDSQL,\16\ such that providing the CAT Reporter 
correction rate over time through the OTQT would in many ways be 
duplicative.\17\
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    \15\ See id. at 3. The Participants note that ``DIVER'' and 
``MIRS'' are FINRA CAT's versions of the OTQT. See id. at 2 n.6
    \16\ ``BDSQL'' is the name used by FINRA to describe its 
proprietary user-defined direct query tool.
    \17\ See id. at 3.
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B. Search Return Functionality and Simultaneous Query Functionality

    The Participants state that Section 8.1.2 of Appendix D of the CAT 
NMS Plan sets forth various performance requirements for OTQT searches. 
One of these requirements sets forth timeframes in which results must 
be returned for various types of queries (``Search Return 
Functionality'').\18\ Another requirement set forth in Section 8.1.2 of 
Appendix D is that the OTQT must ``be able to process up to 300 
simultaneous query requests with no performance degradation'' 
(``Simultaneous Query Functionality'').\19\
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    \18\ See id. at 3. See also CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at 
Appendix D, Section 8.1.2 (setting out the following timeframes: (1) 
``Within 1 minute for all trades and related lifecycle events for a 
specific Customer or CAT Reporter with the ability to filter by 
security and time range for a specified time window up to and 
including an entire day,'' (2) ``within 30 minutes for all trades 
and related lifecycle events for a specific Customer or CAT Reporter 
in a specified date range (maximum 1 month),'' and (3) ``within 6 
hours for all trades and related lifecycle events for a specific 
Customer or CAT Reporter in a specified date range (maximum 12-month 
duration from the most recent 24 months)'').
    \19\ See Participant Letter, supra note 4, at 4. See also CAT 
NMS Plan, supra note 3, at Section 8.1.2.
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    According to the Participant Letter, the OTQT provided by the Plan 
Processor is based on a data mart model that ``supports multi-day/
month/year queries on any field in the CAT and can return all records 
to the regulatory user for further filtering and analytics.'' \20\ The 
Participants state that this model has been used by FINRA in its 
surveillance and market oversight operations for approximately five 
years that ``has proven to be an effective and reliable surveillance 
tool that produces timely results for regulatory use cases.'' \21\ 
``[I]f the user requests data for a single symbol during a specified 
time period on a single trade date, all data for that date and symbol 
(hundreds of millions of records) must be scanned to locate the 
specific records requested.'' \22\ A data mart is then created which 
allows a regulatory user to perform any subsequent filtering and 
analysis.\23\ The Participants state that, once a data mart has been 
created, the results from any subsequent filtering and analysis are 
returned ``well within the timeframes set forth in Section 8.1.2 of 
Appendix

[[Page 83669]]

D.'' \24\ In some instances, however, the Participants acknowledge that 
the amount of time required by the OTQT to populate a data mart is 
longer than the timeframes set forth in the CAT NMS Plan.\25\ They 
state, for example, that ``[i]t typically currently takes up to four 
minutes for queries for a single day involving equities trades and up 
to six minutes for options trade queries for a single day for the OTQT 
to create and return a data mart in response to targeted search 
requests with a required response time of one minute under Section 
8.1.2 of Appendix D.'' \26\
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    \20\ See Participant Letter, supra note 4, at 4.
    \21\ See id. at 4-5.
    \22\ See id. at 4.
    \23\ See id.
    \24\ See id. With respect to complex queries, the Participants 
state that the OTQT returns data marts to regulatory users ``well 
before'' the 24-hour time limit set forth in the CAT NMS Plan. See 
id.; see also CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at Appendix D, Section 
8.1.2. However, the Participants also state that ``a request for 
related lifecycles makes a query complex.'' See Participant Letter, 
supra note 4, at 5 n.18. The Commission does not agree that a 
request for related lifecycles makes a query complex. See Part III 
infra for further discussion of the OTQT requirements set forth in 
the CAT NMS Plan. In addition, and as discussed in Part III infra, 
the Commission believes that the timeframe for ``returning results'' 
in Section 8.1.2 of Appendix D of the CAT NMS Plan begins with the 
submission of the query in the OTQT and ends with the return of the 
results of the query to the user inclusive of related linkages.
    \25\ See Participant Letter, supra note 4, at 4.
    \26\ See id. at 4-5.
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    The Participants therefore request temporary exemptive relief from 
compliance with the Search Return Functionality and the Simultaneous 
Query Functionality requirements of Section 8.1.2 of Appendix D of the 
CAT NMS Plan until July 31, 2023.\27\ During the period of the 
exemption, the Participants assert that they will ``continue to assess 
the performance of the OTQT and look for opportunities to further 
reduce the time that it takes to build the data mart in response to 
OTQT queries on a consistent basis.'' \28\ In this respect, the 
Participants represent that they have been working with the Plan 
Processor to reduce the time that it takes to populate an OTQT data 
mart.\29\ They explain that the Plan Processor runs ``multiple 
benchmark queries each day that are designed to measure system 
performance given CAT Data sets and query usage, including the times to 
create data marts for various types of queries and responses during 
simultaneous querying,'' and shares its results with the Participants 
and the Commission to identify areas for potential performance 
enhancements.\30\ The Participant Letter further states that such 
efforts have already reduced the time required to populate data marts 
in the OTQT.\31\
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    \27\ See id. at 6.
    \28\ See id.
    \29\ See id. at 5.
    \30\ See id.
    \31\ See id.
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III. Discussion

    As the Participants note, Sections 6.10(c) and Appendix D, Section 
8.1.1 of the CAT NMS Plan require the OTQT to ``provide authorized 
users with the ability to retrieve CAT Data via an online query screen 
that includes the ability to choose from a variety of pre-defined 
selection criteria,'' \32\ including, among other things, the ``CAT 
Reporter correction rate over time'' (or, the ``Error Correction Rate 
Functionality'').\33\ Section 8.1.2 of Appendix D of the CAT NMS Plan 
further sets forth minimum performance requirements for OTQT searches 
that include equities and options trade data only in the search 
criteria, including returning results within the following timeframes: 
(1) ``within 1 minute for all trades and related lifecycle events for a 
specific Customer or CAT Reporter with the ability to filter by 
security and time range for a specified time window up to and including 
an entire day''; (2) ``within 30 minutes for all trades and related 
lifecycle events for a specific Customer or CAT Reporter in a specified 
date range (maximum 1 month)''; and (3) ``within 6 hours for all trades 
and related lifecycle events for a specific Customer or CAT Reporter in 
a specified date range (maximum 12-month duration from the most recent 
24 months).'' \34\
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    \32\ See CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at 6.10(c)(i)(A).
    \33\ See id. at Appendix D, Section 8.1.1.
    \34\ See id. at Appendix D, Section 8.1.2.
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    The timeframe for ``returning results'' in Section 8.1.2 of 
Appendix D (i.e., the time to ``return results'' or the ``Search Return 
Functionality'') begins with the submission of the query in the OTQT 
and ends with the return of the results of the query to the user; it 
does not begin with the population of a data mart. ``Returning 
results'' captures the entirety of the time it takes to generate 
results in response to the user's initial query. If the query response 
time requirements for ``returning results'' begins at a time later than 
the time the query was submitted, query response times would fail to 
fully reflect the total time necessary for the OTQT to generate 
results, and display them to the user.\35\ This would be inconsistent 
with the plain meaning of the CAT NMS Plan language concerning query 
response time requirements and would undermine the purpose of the 
performance standard.
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    \35\ Appendix D, Section 8.1.1 requires that the OTQT ``must 
provide a record count of the result set, the date and time the 
query request is submitted, and the date and time the result set is 
provided to the users.'' It also requires that the OTQT must ``log 
submitted queries and parameters used in the query, the user ID of 
the submitter, the date and time of the submission, as well as the 
delivery of results.'' See id. at Appendix D, Section 8.1.1. Since 
the CAT NMS Plan requires the OTQT to record the date and time the 
query request is submitted, the query response times set forth in 
the CAT NMS Plan should be based on this information.
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    Appendix D, Section 8.1.2 of the CAT NMS Plan sets forth 
requirements for ``related lifecycle events'' and ``complex queries.'' 
``Related lifecycle events'' are covered by the 1 minute, 30 minute, 
and 6 hour requirements in the CAT NMS Plan set forth above,\36\ 
whereas Appendix D, Section 8.1.2 of the CAT NMS Plan separately 
provides that ``[f]or the complex queries that either scan large 
volumes of data (e.g., multiple trade dates) or return large result 
sets (>1M records), the response time must generally be available 
within 24 hours of the submission of the request.'' \37\ Under the CAT 
NMS Plan, therefore, queries for ``related lifecycle events'' are not 
``complex queries'' and thus the 24 hour requirement does not apply. If 
queries including ``related lifecycle events'' were ``complex 
queries,'' then any query that included ``related lifecycle events'' 
would be subject to the 24 hour requirement. This is not consistent 
with the language of the CAT NMS Plan. Rather, based on the language of 
the CAT NMS Plan, ``related lifecycle events'' are included in, and 
thus are subject to, the 1 minute, 30 minute, and 6 hour requirements 
for OTQT searches that include equities and options trade data only as 
search criteria. Interpreting any query that includes ``related 
lifecycle events'' as a ``complex query'' contradicts the presence of 
``related lifecycle events'' in the CAT NMS Plan language setting forth 
the 1 minute, 30 minute, and 6 hour requirements.
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    \36\ See, e.g., note 34 supra.
    \37\ See CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at Appendix D, Section 
8.1.2.
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    Appendix D, Section 8.1.2 also requires that ``[t]he online 
targeted query tool must be able to process up to 300 simultaneous 
query requests with no performance degradation'' (or, the 
``Simultaneous Query Functionality'').\38\ As stated above, the 
timeframe for ``returning results'' begins with the submission of the 
query in the OTQT and ends with the return of the results of the query 
to the user. The Commission understands that the Participants have not 
yet determined the meaning of ``performance degradation,''

[[Page 83670]]

but the Commission believes ``performance degradation'' on query 
requests should be based on the ability of the OTQT to meet the above-
described timeframes set forth by Appendix D, Section 8.1.2 of the CAT 
NMS Plan.\39\ Performance degradation is a deterioration in performance 
as measured according to a certain standard. The Commission believes it 
is reasonable to assess ``performance degradation'' based on a 
measurement of performance against the CAT NMS Plan and service level 
agreement (``SLA'') requirements,\40\ because the Participants are 
already required to meet these standards. Thus, if the OTQT is able to 
process up to 300 simultaneous query requests while meeting the CAT NMS 
Plan and SLA requirements, there would be no ``performance 
degradation.'' \41\
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    \38\ See CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at Appendix D, Section 
8.1.1.
    \39\ See, e.g., notes 34-37 and associated text supra.
    \40\ See CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at Appendix D, Section 8.5 
(requiring the establishment of SLAs for ``query performance and 
response times'').
    \41\ The OTQT is required at all times to meet the CAT NMS Plan 
requirement to process up to 300 simultaneous query requests with no 
performance degradation.
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    Section 36 of the Exchange Act grants the Commission the authority, 
with certain limitations, to ``conditionally or unconditionally exempt 
any person, security, or transaction . . . from any provision or 
provisions of [the Exchange Act] or of any rule or regulation 
thereunder, to the extent that such exemption is necessary or 
appropriate in the public interest, and is consistent with the 
protection of investors.'' \42\ Rule 608(e) of Regulation NMS under the 
Exchange Act authorizes the Commission to exempt, either 
unconditionally or on specified terms and conditions, any self-
regulatory organization, member thereof, or specified security, from 
the provisions of the rule if the Commission determines that such 
exemption is consistent with the public interest, the protection of 
investors, the maintenance of fair and orderly markets and the removal 
of impediments to, and perfection of the mechanisms of, a national 
market system.\43\
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    \42\ 15 U.S.C. 78mm(a)(1).
    \43\ 17 CFR 242.608(e).
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    The Commission believes that, pursuant to Section 36 of the 
Exchange Act, the temporary exemptive relief requested by the 
Participants is appropriate in the public interest and consistent with 
the protection of investors, and that, pursuant to Rule 608(e) under 
the Exchange Act, the temporary exemptive relief requested by the 
Participants is consistent with the public interest, the protection of 
investors, the maintenance of fair and orderly markets and the removal 
of impediments to, and the perfection of the mechanisms of, a national 
market system. The OTQT is an important regulatory tool required by the 
CAT NMS Plan; it is one of only three access methods that regulators 
have to query CAT Data, and it is the only method that can be used by 
regulatory staff without programming experience to directly access the 
CAT using tools provided by the Plan Processor. Thus, it is consistent 
with the public interest, the protection of investors, and the 
maintenance of fair and orderly markets that all facets of the OTQT are 
implemented consistent with the CAT NMS Plan. The Commission 
understands that implementing the above-described functionality will 
require software development and architectural changes to the existing 
OTQT. Providing the requested temporary exemptive relief will give the 
Participants additional time to properly implement the above-described 
functionality. The Commission believes that the long-term benefits of 
allowing the Participants sufficient time to correctly implement these 
facets of the OTQT outweigh any concerns regarding the impact of 
delayed implementation.
    The Commission also believes that providing the requested exemptive 
relief on the schedule proposed by the Participants is appropriate. 
With respect to the Error Correction Rate Functionality requirements, 
the Participants request that temporary exemptive relief be granted 
until April 30, 2021. This schedule will align the release of the Error 
Correction Rate Functionality with another planned functionality 
release,\44\ while still providing a certain deadline that will 
encourage progress towards the implementation of the required OTQT 
functionality. The Commission believes that such alignment will enable 
the SROs to leverage planned functionality release activities--
including user acceptance testing, documentation, and approvals--for 
the release of the Error Correction Rate Functionality. Moreover, the 
Commission believes that granting the requested exemptive relief on the 
schedule proposed by the Participants would have only a limited impact 
on regulators' utilization of the OTQT. As stated in the Participant 
Letter, the Participants and the Commission currently have access to a 
variety of fields of processed CAT Data and/or validated (unlinked) 
data via the OTQT,\45\ and information regarding the CAT Reporter 
correction rate over time will likewise be available for compliance 
review purposes through the CAT Reporter Portal and/or the Plan 
Processor's BDSQL tool by December 2020.\46\
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    \44\ This release will include, among other things, industry 
member reporting of new equity exchange order book and volume 
concentration data and expanded OTQT functionality related to this 
data. See id. at 3.
    \45\ See id. at 3.
    \46\ See id. at 3. However, the Error Correction Rate 
Functionality is still critical, as it will facilitate a regulatory 
user's ability to determine the quality of CAT Data for regulatory 
use (versus compliance review purposes).
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    With respect to the Search Return Functionality and the 
Simultaneous Query Functionality requirements, the Participants request 
that temporary exemptive relief be granted until July 31, 2023. The 
Commission believes this deadline will give the Participants and the 
Plan Processor sufficient time to develop the necessary systems and 
technology.
    The Commission is also conditioning this temporary exemptive relief 
on the following:
    First, as a condition to this exemptive relief, the Participants 
would be required to satisfy all other requirements of the Full 
Implementation of Core Equity Reporting Requirements milestone by 
December 31, 2020.\47\
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    \47\ See note 13 supra. To the extent that the Participants are 
availing themselves of exemptive relief from a CAT NMS Plan 
requirement, including requirements relating to Error Correction 
Rate Functionality, Search Return Functionality, and Simultaneous 
Query Functionality, such requirement shall not be included in the 
requirements for the Full Implementation of Core Equity Reporting 
Requirements milestone, provided that the conditions of the 
exemption are satisfied. However, to meet the Full Implementation of 
Core Equity Reporting Requirements milestone, all other 
functionality required by Section 8.1.1 and Section 8.1.2 of 
Appendix D of the CAT NMS Plan must incorporate the relevant 
equities transaction data and be available to Participants and to 
the Commission. See CAT NMS Plan, supra note 3, at Section 1.1 
(``Full Implementation of Core Equity Requirements'' definition).
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    Second, to better enable the Commission to monitor progress towards 
the reduction of query response times, the Participants would be 
required, as a condition to this exemptive relief, to perform the 
following benchmark queries to measure, on a monthly basis, the 
timeframes in which the OTQT returns results for the following types of 
queries: (1) All trades and related lifecycle linkages and/or events 
for a specific Customer or CAT Reporter with the ability to filter by 
security and time range for a specified time window up to and including 
an entire day; (2) all trades and related lifecycle linkages and/or 
events for a specific Customer or CAT Reporter in a specified date 
range

[[Page 83671]]

(maximum 1 month); and (3) all trades and related lifecycle linkages 
and/or events for a specific Customer or CAT Reporter in a specified 
date range (maximum 12-month duration from the most recent 24 months). 
For each benchmark query, the Participants should provide the average, 
standard deviation, maximum, and minimum timeframes in which the OTQT 
returns results, as the Commission believes it is important to capture 
not only information regarding the average timeframes in which the OTQT 
returns results, but also information regarding the variability and 
consistency of the timeframes in which the OTQT returns results. In 
addition, for each benchmark query, the Participants should use all 
available CAT Data, including Participant data submitted by FINRA and 
national securities exchanges, data submitted by Industry Members,\48\ 
and other data. Finally, the Participants should provide monthly 
reports regarding any actual queries done by regulatory users with the 
average, standard deviation, maximum, and minimum timeframes in which 
the OTQT returns results for actual queries. All of the above-described 
measurements should be provided to the Operating Committee on a monthly 
basis and should be clearly set forth as factual indicators in the 
Quarterly Progress Reports required by Section 6.6(c) of the CAT NMS 
Plan. This condition will permit the Commission and the public to track 
the Participants' progress towards meeting the above-described CAT NMS 
Plan requirements and providing regulators with an effective OTQT by 
the July 31, 2023 deadline.\49\
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    \48\ ``Industry Member'' is a defined term under the CAT NMS 
Plan and means ``means a member of a national securities exchange or 
a member of a national securities association.'' See CAT NMS Plan, 
supra note 3, at Section 1.1.
    \49\ Pursuant to Section 6.6(c)(ii) of the CAT NMS Plan, 
Quarterly Progress Reports must be filed with the Commission and 
made publicly available on each SRO's website or collectively on the 
CAT NMS Plan website.
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    Third, to better enable the Commission to monitor their progress 
towards meeting the parallel processing requirements of the CAT NMS 
Plan, the Participants would also be required, as a condition to this 
exemptive relief, to measure on a monthly basis, using benchmark 
queries, the time it takes to provide results to users from OTQT 
searches that are run concurrently with either 50-100, 100-200, or 200-
300 queries, and to evaluate whether such results otherwise meet 
current CAT NMS Plan and SLA performance requirements for targeted and 
complex queries. These measurements should be provided to the Operating 
Committee on a monthly basis and should be clearly set forth as factual 
indicators in the Quarterly Progress Reports required by Section 6.6(c) 
of the CAT NMS Plan.

IV. Conclusion

    Accordingly, it is hereby ordered, pursuant to Section 36(a)(1) of 
the Exchange Act \50\ and Rule 608(e) under the Exchange Act,\51\ that 
the Commission grants the Participants' request for temporary exemptive 
relief, as set forth in the Participant Letter and subject to the 
conditions described herein, from the requirements in Section 8.1.1 of 
Appendix D of the CAT NMS Plan with respect to the Error Correction 
Rate Functionality until April 30, 2021 and from the requirements in 
Section 8.1.2 of Appendix D of the CAT NMS Plan with respect to the 
Search Return Functionality and the Simultaneous Query Functionality 
until July 31, 2023.
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    \50\ 15 U.S.C. 78mm(a)(1).
    \51\ 17 CFR 242.608(e).

    By the Commission.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-28153 Filed 12-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P