FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             2001-27

     COMMISSION EXTENDS INITIAL COMPLIANCE DATE OF ORDER
   EXECUTION QUALITY DISCLOSURE RULE AND PROVIDES WRITTEN
             GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RULE

     Washington, D.C., March 13, 2001 - Today, the
Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it is
extending the initial compliance date for the first phase-in
of securities subject to Rule 11Ac1-5, the order execution
quality disclosure rule, from April 2, 2001 to May 1, 2001.
The subsequent phase-in dates of Rule 11Ac1-5 and the
compliance date of Rule 11Ac1-6, the order routing
disclosure rule, remain unchanged.

     The Division of Market Regulation also has published
Staff Legal Bulletin No. 12 responding to questions the
staff has received from market participants on the
application of Rule 11Ac1-5.  The legal bulletin, in the
form of a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, sets
forth the views of the Division of Market Regulation.  The
Commission has neither approved nor disapproved its content.

     In addition, the Commission has issued exemptions from
the provisions of Rule 11Ac1-5 relating to manually-received
orders, orders affected by crossed markets, and orders
affected by trading halts.  The exemptions are set forth in
a letter to the Securities Industry Association.

     Separately, the Commission issued a temporary
exemption, until July 31, 2001, from the reporting
requirement of Rule 11Ac1-5 to smaller Nasdaq market
centers.  To qualify, the Nasdaq market center must meet two
conditions:  (1) its reported trade volume in Nasdaq-listed
securities for the month of January 2001 was less than
10,000 trades; and (2) it arranges, prior to May 1, 2001, to
use Nasdaq's forthcoming voluntary reporting service or any
other reporting service to comply with the Rule.  The
exemption is set forth in a letter to the Nasdaq Stock
Market, Inc.

     The Commission's release extending the initial
compliance date of Rule 11Ac1-5, Staff Legal Bulletin No.
12, and the two exemption letters will be made available on
the SEC's Internet site at: http://www.sec.gov.

     For further information, contact:  Susie Cho in the
Division of Market Regulation at 202-942-0748.

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