Financial Markets and Funds Partner James Brady spoke with Bloomberg Law about the latest court decision and its implications for funding the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has issued public statements indicating likely efforts to overhaul CAT. James stated, "I do think it's a meaningful priority for Atkins, because it's a big industry issue and a big expensive mess right now. Atkins would have made changes no matter what, but it is possible this could speed it up."
Several industry groups and exchanges — including the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Nasdaq, and Cboe Global Markets Inc. — have issued proposals to rework the tool. James added, "The SEC is going to have to move quickly. They're going to have to get the exchanges to cooperate. I strongly suspect there will be a scaling back by the SEC of the amount of information collected, and then presumably that will flow through to it being a cheaper process to actually report and collect the data."
However, James shared that the appeals panel is clearly aware of Wall Street's appetite for eliminating the system entirely.
"Market Surveillance Tool in Jeopardy After Citadel Win," Bloomberg Law, August 12, 2025