SEC approves stock and options trading database

New York

THE US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted on Tuesday to approve a massive stock and options trading database, prompted by the 2010 "flash crash", aimed at helping regulators police the increasingly fast, fragmented and complex markets.

The creation of a Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) establishes a regulatory central database for every trade order, execution, modification and cancellation, as mandated by the SEC in July 2012.

The CAT's creation was overseen by all US stock and options exchanges, as well as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which are known as self-regulatory organisations (SROs). "The import of today's action cannot be overstated," SEC chair Mary Jo White said prior to the vote. "With the approval and ultimate implementation of CAT, the commission's regulatory capacity strongly embraces 21st century technology, enabling the commission and the SROs to harness data and technol…