Technical Notice
User Acceptance Testing for the TRACE and BTDS System Modifications Scheduled for November 3, 2008
As set forth in the Technical Notices dated July 22, 2008 and August 4, 2008, FINRA will be modifying the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) and Bond Trade Dissemination Service (BTDS) Systems to support trade reporting of equity-linked notes (ELNs) and dissemination of the new Reporting Party Side indicator. In addition, FINRA will no longer require firms to report yield on TRACE trade reports as set forth in Regulatory Notice 08-52. These changes are scheduled to take effect November 3, 2008.
FINRA will conduct a User Acceptance Test (UAT) on Saturday, October 18, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (ET) to test the new trade reporting and trade dissemination processes. We encourage firms to participate in the UAT to ensure their readiness for the November 3 changes.
Participation
All member firms, including service bureaus who use Computer-to-Computer Interface (CTCI) or the TRACE Web Browser to report TRACE transactions, are eligible to participate in the UAT. In addition, Market Data Vendors who subscribe to BTDS are encouraged to record data on the test date to ensure they can process the new trade message formats.
Registration
If your firm uses CTCI to access TRACE, please register no later than 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday, October 17, 2008 by contacting NASDAQ Trading Services via email at tradingservices@nasdaqomx.com or by phone at (212) 231-5180.
If your firm uses the TRACE Web Browser, please register by sending an email to Orlando Cortes.
Data Vendors may also email Orlando Cortes if they intend to record the test data on October 18.
Testing Details
The UAT will start at approximately 9:00 a.m. (ET) and end at approximately 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, October 18. The following open conference call has been established for the duration of the test:
Date: Saturday, October 18, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. (ET)
Dial-in: (877) 985-6095
Pass code: 840428#
FINRA will issue a User Test Script the week of October 13 that participants should follow.
Weekday Testing
The modifications to TRACE and BTDS will also be available for firms who would like to conduct testing during normal business hours. Free testing will be available in the Nasdaq Testing Environment (NTF) from October 8 through October 31.
Please note: NTF supports trade reporting via CTCI, but not via the TRACE Web Browser. Firms that trade report via the TRACE/RTTM Interface may also test in NTF. In addition, beginning October 8, BTDS test transmissions will be available every night starting at approximately 8:00pm ET. These evening test transmissions will be disseminated via the normal production channels. Please contact the NTF Group at (212) 231-5180 for more information on NTF testing.
Questions
Please direct questions concerning system modifications and testing to Orlando Cortes at (212) 858-5143 or FINRA Product Management at (866) 899-2107.