OTC Equity Securities

The OATS Rules require member firms to report to FINRA order information for NASDAQ-listed equity securities. Beginning February 4, 2008, the OATS Rules apply to OTC equity securities. Initial public offerings (IPOs), secondary offerings, Direct Participation Programs (DPPs), "restricted securities", as defined by SEC Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act of 1933, and any securities designated in the PORTAL Market are not reportable to OATS.

As previously communicated, OTCBB.com will add the "OATS Reportable Flag" to the Symbol Directory and the Daily Lists. The following timeline describes the availability of this information:

November 2007 - File Definitions and Sample Data
The definitions of the Symbol Directory and the Daily Lists are available below. Sample data, representing the trade date of November 14, 2007, is available on FINRA.org. Please Note: this list does not represent the list of securities that will be reportable to OATS on February 4, 2008. The sample lists are static and will not change on a daily basis.

January 2008 - OTCBB.com Implementation
OTCBB.com will display the OATS Reportable Flag on the Daily Lists and Symbol Directories. A consolidated list of OTC and OTCBB equity securities, which includes the OATS Reportable Flag, will be available on a daily basis via the Web and the FTP Symbol Directory. Changes to the OATS Reportable Flag will be identified in the Symbol Directory and Daily Lists.

February 4, 2008 - OTC Equity Securities Reportable to OATS
Starting on February 4, 2008, OTC equity securities are reportable to OATS. The OATS Web Interface will include a link to NASDAQTrader.com and OTCBB.com.

Please Note: For a complete listing of Nasdaq-listed equity securities, firms may access http://www.nasdaqtrader.com. All Nasdaq-listed equity securities are OATS reportable.

Symbol Directory

The OTCBB.com Symbol Directory provides access to all OTC and OTCBB equity securities. All data contained in the list represents the current trading day. The consolidated list will contain an "OATS Reportable Flag" identifying that a symbol is OATS Reportable.

The Symbol Directory file definition will be modified as follows:
 

Field Name Definition
Issue_Sym_id Existing Field
Issue_Type_Cd Existing Field
Issue_Short_Nm Existing Field
Status Existing Field
Mkt_Cat New Field - Market Category
U - OTCBB
u - other-OTC
OATS_Rptbl_Fl New Field - One Character Field with the following allowable values:
'Y' (Yes - Security is OATS Reportable starting February 4, 2008)
'N' (No - Security is NOT OATS Reportable)
Filler New Field - Field is reserved for future use.

View a

for trade date November 14, 2007.
 

Daily List

The OTCBB.com Daily List contains a list of new issues, symbol and name changes, and deleted issues for all OTC and OTCBB securities. The Daily Lists are updated throughout the trading day between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). To obtain the most current information during the trading day, firms should refer to the Daily List.

The Daily List will be modified as follows:

Field Name Definition
DailyListDate Existing Field
Type Existing Field
NewSymbol Existing Field
OldSymbol Existing Field
NewName Existing Field
OldName Existing Field
EffDate Existing Field
Comments Existing Field
Notes Existing Field
CoPhone Existing Field
Mkt_Cat Existing Field
OATS_Rptbl_Fl New Field - One Character Field with the following allowable values:
  • 'Y' (Yes - Security is OATS Reportable starting February 4, 2008)
  • 'N' (No - Security is NOT OATS Reportable)
Filler New Field - Field is reserved for future use.

View a

for trade date November 14, 2007.
 

OTCBB.com Production Links

Starting in January 2008, firms may access the "OATS Reportable Flag" at the following locations:

List Type Location
Web Symbol Directory http://www.otcbb.com/static/symbol.stm
FTP Symbol Directory ftp://ftp.otcbb.com/symboldirectory/

File Name: allotcbb_otherotc.txt
Daily List http://www.otcbb.com

Additional Information

The following resources are available to help members answer questions regarding OATS: