NASDAQ Transfers OTCBB to the NASD
Summary
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the transfer of the OTCBB/OTC business to the NASD.
The transfer will be effective October 1, 2005.
Contact information
What is changing and how will it affect customers?
As announced in July 2005 in Head Trader Alert #2005-083, in preparation for Exchange Registration, NASDAQ® is planning to transfer the OTCBB/OTC business to the NASD. The SEC has now approved the transfer and it will be effective October 1, 2005.
NASDAQ and NASD have structured this transfer of the businesses to be seamless to the customers of the OTCBB and OTC trade reporting businesses. NASDAQ will continue to provide the technology and connectivity used to carry out the day-to-day functions of the OTCBB and OTC trade reporting while the OTCBB business and OTC trade reporting business will be owned, managed and regulated by the NASD.
Will there be any changes to the way I trade OTCBB securities?
The OTCBB will continue to be accessed through the existing channels: the NASDAQ Workstation II® (available until November 30, 2005) and application programming interface (API) (available until December 31, 2005), the computer-to-computer interface (CTCI), and through NASDAQ's new offerings in 2005, QIX, NASDAQ's proprietary connectivity protocol, and the new NASDAQ Workstation. OTCBB market data will also continue to be offered through the Bulletin Board Dissemination ServiceSM (BBDSSM) and the NASDAQ Trade Data Dissemination ServiceSM (TDDSSM).
How will billing change?
Effective with the October activity bill, generated in early November, market participants who quote and/or trade report in OTCBB/OTC securities will receive a separate bill from the NASD for that activity. No other OTCBB-related billing will change (i.e. data feeds).
Where can I go for more information?
Questions regarding the OTCBB transfer may be addressed to:
Karen Peterson at 212.401.8795;
Colleen Lampe at 301.978.8258, or, otcbbfeedback*nasdaq.com;
NASD, Karen Sancilio on 866.749.7096;
NASD, Patricia Casimates on 866-776-0800.
For more information on the retirement of the NWII or the API, please refer to Head Trader Alert #2005-105.
