FINRA Updates Fees for Stock Trade Tracking System
Published Date: 7/8/2025
Notice
Summary
Starting July 1, 2025, FINRA is updating its fees to cover its share of the costs for running the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) through the end of the year. This means financial firms will see a new cost recovery fee to help pay for tracking trading activity more efficiently. The change kicks in immediately and keeps the system running smoothly and fairly.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 4 costs, 0 mixed.
FINRA starts CAT cost-recovery billing
Your FINRA member firm that acts as a CAT Executing Broker (the buyer-side CEBB or seller-side CEBS) will be subject to a new FINRA Prospective CAT Cost Recovery Fee for the period July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. FINRA filed the rule change on June 25, 2025 and the filing was effective upon receipt; FINRA will invoice member CAT Executing Brokers monthly starting in August 2025 for July 2025 activity.
Per-share fee rate and billing rules
FINRA will charge member CEBBs and CEBSs a Prospective CAT Cost Recovery Fee of $0.000005 per executed equivalent share for transactions executed otherwise than on an exchange. Each member CAT Executing Broker will receive a separate monthly invoice (first in August 2025 based on July 2025 transactions) showing fees calculated as executed equivalent shares times $0.000005.
Budget totals, allocation, and expected collections
The Budgeted CAT Costs 2025-2 total $60,726,412 for July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025; Industry Members are responsible for two‑thirds ($40,484,274.66) and Participants one‑third ($20,242,137.33). FINRA expects to pay about $1,211,400 per month (about $7,268,400 total) to CAT LLC and expects to recoup about $1,346,000 per month from member CEBBs and CEBS, resulting in an anticipated overcollection of about $807,600 for the July–December 2025 period.
Possible trading-venue cost shift and competitiveness
The filing notes that if FINRA passes its CAT costs to member firms and exchanges do not pass through their CAT allocations, the cost to transact off-exchange could increase relative to executing on an exchange, which could give exchanges a competitive advantage. FINRA also states it does not know whether exchanges or member firms will pass through their CAT fees to customers.
Monthly public reporting of invoiced amounts
FINRA will publish on its website the total amount it invoices each month under the Prospective CAT Cost Recovery Fee, cumulative invoiced amounts since commencement, the total amount FINRA is invoiced by CAT LLC monthly and cumulatively, and the monthly and cumulative variance between amounts invoiced by FINRA and amounts FINRA is invoiced by CAT LLC.
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