cmg and all-it's a bit of a read but should be looked over-i've bolded a few things:
copied this from a post from another board and poster.
FEBRUARY 2007 GUIDANCE
KEY TOPICS
NASD’s Trading and Quotation Halt
Authority Expanded
SEC Approves Amendments to NASD Rules to Modify
and Expand NASD’s Authority to Initiate Trading and
Quotation Halts in Over-the-Counter (OTC) Equity
Securities; Effective Date: March 16, 2007
Executive Summary
On December 18, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) approved amendments to NASD Rule 6660 to expand the
scope of NASD’s authority to initiate trading and quotation halts in
OTC Equity Securities and new IM-6660-1 to identify certain factors
that NASD may consider in determining, at its discretion, whether
imposing a trading and quotation halt in an OTC Equity Security is
appropriate.1
Rule 6660 and IM-6660-1, as approved, are set forth in Attachment
A of this Notice. The amendments will become effective on March
16, 2007.
Questions/Further Information
Questions or comments regarding this Notice may be directed to
Elliot Levine, Chief Counsel, Transparency Services, at (202) 728-8405;
or Kosha K. Dalal, Associate General Counsel, Office of General
Counsel (OGC), at (202) 728-6903.
Operational questions concerning trading and quotation halts in
OTC Equity Securities should be directed to NASD Operations at
(866) 776-0800, or please refer to the Web site at OTCBB.com.
Legal & Compliance
Operations
Registered Representatives
Senior Management
Trading
IM-6660-1
OTC Equity Securities
Quotations
Rule 6660
Trading Halts
Notice to Members
07-09 NASD NTM FEBRUARY 2007 1
Background and Discussion
Effective October 1, 2005, NASD transferred ownership and operations of the OTC
Bulletin Board (OTCBB) from The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (NASDAQ) to NASD.
Prompted in part by the transition of the OTCBB, NASD has been analyzing the
regulatory framework in this sector of the marketplace to determine whether changes
in this area are appropriate. As part of this ongoing effort, NASD is adopting several
changes related to its current authority under Rule 6545 to halt trading and quotations
in certain OTC Equity Securities.2
Currently, Rule 6545 provides NASD with limited trading and quotation halt authority
solely for securities quoted on the OTCBB. Specifically, Rule 6545(a) currently provides
NASD with authority to halt trading and quotations of OTCBB securities only where:
(1) the OTCBB security (or security underlying an OTCBB American Depository Receipt,
otherwise known as an ADR) is listed on or registered with a foreign market and the
foreign regulatory authority or market halts trading in the security; (2) the OTCBB
security (or the security underlying the OTCBB ADR) is a derivative or component of a
security listed on or registered with NASDAQ, a national securities exchange or foreign
exchange, and the exchange or market halts trading in the underlying security; or
(3) the OTCBB issuer fails to comply with the requirements of SEC Rule 10b-17, which
generally requires the issuer of a class of securities that are publicly traded to give
notice to NASD no later than 10 days prior to the record date of a dividend or
distribution. Pursuant to Rule 6545, NASD has authority to halt trading and quotations
of securities quoted on the OTCBB for up to five business days.
On December 18, 2006, the SEC approved amendments to expand the scope of NASD’s
authority to initiate trading and quotation halts in OTC Equity Securities.3 Specifically,
Rule 6545, as amended and renumbered to Rule 6660,4 expands the scope of NASD
authority to initiate trading and quotation halts in all OTC Equity Securities, which
includes ADRs that trade in the OTC market, securities quoted in quotation mediums
other than the OTCBB (e.g., the Pink Sheets), and other OTC Equity Securities. This
expansion will allow NASD to impose its trading and quotation halt authority uniformly
to all OTC Equity Securities eliminating the disparity between OTCBB securities and
other quotation mediums.
Further, Rule 6660 expands NASD’s existing trading halt authority to provide more
general trading and quotation halt authority beyond halts related to non-compliance
with SEC Rule 10b-17, while limiting such authority to only those extraordinary events
that have a material effect on the market for the OTC Equity Security and have the
potential to cause major disruption to the marketplace and/or significant uncertainty
in the settlement and clearance process. Specifically, under Rule 6660(a)(3), NASD has
the authority to impose a trading and quotation halt for material events, where NASD
determines, at its discretion, based on the facts and circumstances of the particular
event, that halting trading in the security is the appropriate mechanism to protect
investors and ensure a fair and orderly marketplace.
07-09 NASD NTM FEBRUARY 2007 2
In addition, Rule 6660 increases the maximum number of business days that NASD can
impose a trading and quotation halt from up to five business days to 10 business days.
A halt for a period of up to 10 business days is consistent with the SEC’s authority to
temporarily suspend trading in securities in accordance with Section 12(k) of the
Exchange Act. Increasing the maximum number of days from five to 10 business days
will allow more time for regulators to act and for the market of the subject security to
stabilize.
NASD is also adopting IM-6660-1 to identify certain factors that NASD may consider in
determining, at its discretion, whether halting trading in an OTC Equity Security under
Rule 6660(a)(3) is appropriate. Due to the general nature of quoting and trading in the
OTC Equity market, and the fact that NASD lacks a direct contractual relationship with
OTC Equity issuers, NASD does not favor imposing a trading halt and thus expects to
exercise this authority in very limited circumstances.
Specifically, IM-6660-1 provides
that NASD will consider several factors in making its determination, including but not
limited to: (1) the material nature of the event; (2) the material facts surrounding
the event are undisputed and not in conflict; (3) the event has caused widespread
confusion in the trading of the security; (4) there has been a material negative effect
on the market for the subject security; (5) the potential exists for a major disruption to
the marketplace; (6) there is significant uncertainty in the settlement and clearance
process for the security; and/or (7) such other factors as NASD deems relevant in making
its determination. NASD may review all or some of these factors as it determines
appropriate. NASD staff will weigh the relevant information and make a determination
whether halting trading in the security is appropriate and may consult with NASD’s
Uniform Practice Code Committee (or any successor thereto) as it deems necessary or
appropriate.
Based on NASD’s experience to date, each event presents a unique set of facts and
circumstances. As a result, NASD expects to exercise significant discretion in
determining whether a particular event affecting a security warrants a trading and
quotation halt. Notably, Rule 6660 will not be used in cases solely where NASD suspects
that corporate fraud or manipulative activity is occurring with respect to a security,
because NASD does not believe this authority is the appropriate tool for addressing
allegations of fraud. Nor will the authority be used to correct informational imbalances
resulting from corporate news about the issuer—e.g., financial results, release of new
product, or pending regulatory investigation—because NASD has no listing or other
agreement with the issuer of an OTC Equity Security and therefore cannot compel such
issuers to disclose material information.
07-09 NASD NTM FEBRUARY 2007 3
Impact of Trading and Quotation Halt on SEC Rule 15c2-11, NASD 6640 and Form 211
It is important to note that for OTC Equity Securities, in certain instances, quoting will
not automatically resume when a trading halt ends. If trading is halted for four or
more business days, quoting cannot resume for OTC Equity Securities until brokerdealers
comply with the requirements of SEC Rule 15c2-11 and NASD Rule 6640.
Such rules require a broker-dealer to review information about the issuer and have
a reasonable basis under the circumstances to believe that the issuer information is
accurate in all material respects and the sources of such information are reliable. As a
result, any trading and quotation halt greater than four business days generally would
require broker-dealers to comply with the requirements of NASD Rule 6640 before
resuming publication of quotations on the subject security.
Operational Matters
Publication of Trading and Quotation Halts
NASD expects that announcements regarding trading and quotation halts will continue
to be disseminated/published as they currently are for OTCBB securities, including
through NASDAQ MarketWatch and OTCBB.com.
Foreign Regulatory Halts
With respect to trading and quotation halts under Rule 6660(a)(1) for foreign
regulatory halts, information is received only from certain foreign markets, given that
foreign markets generally have no obligation to provide halt information to NASD.
As a result, the current ability to halt trading and quotations in a security pursuant to
Rule 6660(a)(1) is limited. Thus, OTCBB.com currently posts and will continue to post
the following message: “Non-US exchanges, markets and regulatory authorities are
under no obligation to report halts or other information pertaining to securities in
their markets to NASD or NASDAQ.”
Domestic Halts
With respect to trading and quotation halts under Rule 6660(a)(2) for derivatives or
components of exchange-listed securities, efforts will be made to coordinate with
domestic markets to receive information regarding trading and quotation halts. If there
are OTCBB or other OTC listings that are derivatives or components of the security
halted on an exchange, generally a corresponding halt for such securities will be
implemented.
07-09 NASD NTM FEBRUARY 2007 4
07-09 NASD NTM FEBRUARY 2007 5
©2007. NASD. All rights reserved. Notices to Members attempt to present information to readers in a format that is
easily understandable. However, please be aware that, in case of any misunderstanding, the rule language prevails.
New Halt Codes/Security Category
NASD is developing new halt codes and descriptions to correspond to Rule 6660. NASD
anticipates that the new codes and descriptions will be implemented by the end of
April 2007.
NASD will announce the new halt codes and descriptions in a future Notice to
Members.
Endnotes
1 See Exchange Act Release No. 54952 (December
18, 2006), 71 FR 78242 (December 28, 2006)
(File No. SR-NASD-2006-039).
2 The term “OTC Equity Security” is defined in
Rule 6610(d) to mean “any non-exchange listed
security and certain exchange-listed securities
that do not otherwise qualify for real-time
trade reporting.” Certain securities may not
qualify for real-time reporting because they
are not ’’eligible securities’’ as defined in Rule
6410(d). The term ’’OTC Equity Security’’ does
not include ’’restricted securities,’’ as defined by
Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act of 1933,
nor any securities designated in the PORTAL
Market under the NASD Rule 5300 Series.
3 See supra note 1.
4 Because the current NASD Rule 6500 Series
relates solely to OTCBB securities, NASD has
renumbered Rule 6545 as Rule 6660, which
will become part of the NASD rules relating
to OTC Equity Securities.
ATTACHMENT A
New language is underlined. Deleted language is in brackets.
* * * * *
[6545]6660. Trading and Quotation Halt in OTC[BB-Eligible] Equity Securities
(a) Authority for Initiating a Trading and Quotation Halt
In circumstances in which it is necessary to protect investors and the public interest, NASD may direct
members, pursuant to the procedures set forth in paragraph (b), to halt trading and quotations in OTC Equity
Securities (as such term is defined in Rule 6610) [the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market of a security or an American
Depository Receipt (“ADR”), that is included in the OTC Bulletin Board (“OTCBB”)] if:
(1) the OTC[BB] Equity S[s]ecurity or the security underlying an American Depository Receipt
(“ADR”) that is an OTC Equity Security (“OTC ADR”)[the OTCBB ADR] is listed on or registered with a
foreign securities exchange or market, and the foreign securities exchange, market, or regulatory authority
overseeing such issuer, exchange, or market, halts trading in such security for regulatory reasons because of
public interest concerns (“Foreign Regulatory Halt”); provided, however, that NASD will not impose a trading
and quotation halt if the Foreign Regulatory Halt was imposed solely for material news, a regulatory filing
deficiency, or operational reasons; [or]
(2) the OTC[BB] Equity S[s]ecurity or the security underlying [the]an OTC[BB] ADR is a derivative or
component of a security listed on or registered with a national securities exchange or foreign securities
exchange or market (“listed security”), and the national securities exchange, or foreign securities exchange
or market imposes a trading halt in the listed security[.]; or
(3) NASD determines that an extraordinary event has occurred or is ongoing that has had a
material effect on the market for the OTC Equity Security or has caused or has the potential to cause
major disruption to the marketplace and/or significant uncertainty in the settlement and clearance process.
[the issuer of the OTCBB security or the security underlying the OTCBB ADR fails to comply with the
requirements of SEC Rule 10b-17 regarding Untimely Announcements of Record Dates.]
NASD NTM 07-09 FEBRUARY 2007 6
(b) Procedure for Initiating a Trading and Quotation Halt
(1) When a halt is initiated under subparagraph (a)(1) of this rule, upon receipt of information from
a foreign securities exchange or market on which the OTC[BB] Equity S[s]ecurity or the security underlying
the OTC[BB] ADR is listed or registered, or from a regulatory authority overseeing such issuer, exchange, or
market, NASD will promptly evaluate the information and determine whether a trading and quotation halt
in the OTC[BB] Equity S[s]ecurity is appropriate.
(2) Should NASD determine that a basis exists under this rule for initiating a trading and quotation
halt, the commencement of the trading and quotation halt will be effective simultaneous with the issuance
of appropriate public notice.
(3) Trading and quotations in the OTC market may resume when NASD determines that the basis
for the halt no longer exists, or when [five]10 business days have elapsed from the date NASD initiated the
trading and quotation halt in the security, whichever occurs first. NASD shall disseminate appropriate public
notice that the trading and quotation halt is no longer in effect.
(c) Violation of OTC[BB] Trading and Quotation Halt Rule
If a security is subject to a trading and quotation halt initiated pursuant to this rule, it shall be deemed
conduct inconsistent with just and equitable principles of trade and a violation of Rule 2110 for a member:
(1) to effect, directly or indirectly, a trade in such security; or
(2) to publish a quotation, a priced bid and/or offer, an unpriced indication of interest (including
“bid wanted” and “offer wanted” indications), or a bid or offer accompanied by a modifier to reflect
unsolicited customer interest, in any quotation medium. For purposes of this rule, “quotation medium”
shall mean any: system of general circulation to brokers or dealers that regularly disseminates quotations
of identified brokers or dealers; or publication, alternative trading system or other device that is used by
brokers or dealers to disseminate quotations to others.
* * * * *
NASD NTM 07-09 FEBRUARY 2007 7
IM-6660-1 Factors to be Considered When Initiating a Trading and Quotation Halt
NASD may impose a trading and quotation halt in an OTC Equity Security pursuant to Rule 6660(a)(3)
where NASD determines, in its discretion, based on the facts and circumstances of the particular event, that halting
trading in the security is the appropriate mechanism to protect investors and ensure a fair and orderly marketplace.
As a general matter, NASD does not favor imposing a trading and quotation halt in an OTC Equity Security and
will exercise this authority in very limited circumstances. In determining whether to impose a trading halt under
Rule 6660(a)(3), NASD will consider several factors in making its determination, including but not limited to:
(1) the material nature of the event; (2) the material facts surrounding the event are undisputed and not in conflict;
(3) the event has caused widespread confusion in the trading of the security; (4) there has been a material negative
effect on the market for the subject security; (5) the potential exists for a major disruption to the marketplace;
6) there is significant uncertainty in the settlement and clearance process for the security; and/or (7) such other
factors as NASD deems relevant in making its determination. NASD may review all or some of these factors as it
determines appropriate.
* * * * *
NASD NTM 07-09 FEBRUARY 2007 8
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