SEC seeks comment on CAT cost recovery exemption request
The 28 CAT NMS Plan participants, including major exchanges, may be exempted from cost-recovery provisions for Period 4 of the Financial Accountability Milestone, pending SEC comment.
On September 1, 2026 the Securities and Exchange Commission published a notice (Release No. 34-106237; File No. 4-698; FR Doc No. 2026-18071) announcing a request for exemption from certain provisions of the National Market System Plan governing the Consolidated Audit Trail. Consolidated Audit Trail, LLC submitted the request on August 11, 2026 on behalf of the Participants in the CAT NMS Plan, invoking the Commission's exemptive authority under Section 36 of the Exchange Act and Rule 608(e) of Regulation NMS.
The request concerns the recovery of costs incurred during Period 4 of the Financial Accountability Milestones (FAM 4). Section 11.6 of the CAT NMS Plan establishes funding incentives and penalties tied to the four FAM deadlines, and the Participants seek relief from those cost-recovery provisions for the final milestone.
The notice identifies the twenty-eight Participants, including NYSE, Nasdaq, Cboe, MEMX, and other exchanges and market entities. While the exemption request reflects a consensus among the Participants, the notice clarifies that individual Participants may not fully agree with every statement in the request.
The Commission is publishing the notice to provide interested persons an opportunity to comment. The exemption request letter is included as an appendix to the notice and is available on the SEC's docket.
Comments must be submitted in accordance with the procedures outlined in the notice. The CAT NMS Plan and related documents are accessible at https://catnmsplan.com/about-cat/cat-nms-plan.
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