SEC to Consider Publication of Revisions to Proposed Regulation NMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2004-165

Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2004 - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today released the following statement by an SEC spokesperson:

"The Commission intends to consider a recommendation from the Staff regarding proposed Regulation NMS on December 15, 2004. Regulation NMS is the product of years of consideration by the Commission of equity market structure issues, as well as an extensive public dialogue over the course of the past year. After reviewing more than 700 comment letters on the Regulation NMS proposal and the supplementary request for comment, and considering the views of commenters expressed at the April public hearing, the Staff's recommendations differ in some respects from the rule text originally proposed. The recommendations address four major issues, are complex in their detail, and to some extent are inter-dependent. The Staff intends to recommend that the Commission publish Regulation NMS in its revised form to provide the public an opportunity to review the details before the Commission takes final action. The comment period would be followed by Commission action early next year."