The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today
voted to propose measures to increase transparency of private automated trading systems known as "dark pools". Such private systems do not display quotes in the public quote stream and, according to the SEC, the lack of transparency associated with dark pools could create a "two-tiered market that deprives the public of information about stock prices and liquidity." As such, the SEC's proposals include requiring the public disclosure of information regarding "Indications of Interest" (IOIs), which are similar to a typical buy or sell quote and permit others to trade. As described in
our post of June 19, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has discussed the need to regulate dark pools in the past, while in Canada, regulators
recently published a consultation paper on the subject.
The SEC is inviting public comments on the proposals, which have yet to be published on the SEC website, for 90 days after their publication in the Federal Register. For more information, see the text of Ms. Schapiro's speech before the SEC's open meeting as well as the SEC fact sheet on the subject.
