Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, EXCHANGES AND MARKET REGULATION—SEC’s Atkins says more changes needed to address costs, governance, funding of CAT, (Aug 13, 2026)

By Suzanne Cosgrove

The chairman’s call for restructuring comes following “hundreds of comments” in response to an April 16 concept release on the CAT and other audit trails and data sources.

Following a review of comments made on a concept release issued by the SEC in April, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said he has asked the Commission’s staff to provide recommendations on changes that should be made to the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), including requiring the exchanges, FINRA and broker-dealers to report CAT data to the Commission.

A flood of comments. In a letter dated August 10 sent to Robert Walley, chairman of the CAT National Market System (NMS) Plan Operating Committee, the industry-led governance body that currently oversees the CAT, Atkins said the Commission received, and its staff reviewed, hundreds of comments in response to the concept release.

“One theme emerges from the comment file: investors and market participants want the Commission to take more responsibility for managing and funding this project,” Atkins said.

“It is critical for the Commission to move quickly and lay the groundwork necessary to restructure the CAT to address persistent cost, governance, and funding issues,” he added.Initiatives outlined. To that end, Atkins said he directed the SEC’s staff to explore several proposals:

• Review ways to fund the CAT, including through the use of appropriated funds and Section 31 transaction fees.

• Draft for the Commission’s consideration a rulemaking that, if adopted, would rescind Rule 613 and require the exchanges, FINRA and broker-dealers to report CAT data to the Commission or its designee while utilizing current CAT infrastructure and reporting specifications.

• Assess SEC resources for purposes of assuming responsibility for CAT and identify needs related to SEC governance of the CAT.

“These measures would provide a significant, positive change to the structure of the CAT and address fundamental issues with its current costs, governance, and funding,” Atkins said. “Because many of these actions would need to occur in tandem, the transition would likely not be complete until late 2027.”

Previous changes. Atkins said the Commission has already achieved significant reductions in the annual operating costs of the CAT during his tenure at the SEC, and it has eliminated reporting of personally identifiable information to the CAT.

“We made this progress by issuing targeted exemptive relief and approving amendments to the CAT NMS Plan,” he said. “I thank the Participants for their collaboration on these important reforms, which have reduced the costs and scope of the CAT, thereby creating a more efficient and cost-effective system.”

As the staff considers restructuring the CAT, “we will make it a priority to ensure that market participants are given a voice in the process, both now, and after we have assumed responsibility of the CAT, to the extent the Commission adopts rules to restructure the CAT,” Atkins said.

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