SEC moves to scrap Wall Street's ‘order protection rule’

SEC proposes scrapping ‘order protection rule’ on Wall Street.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC on Thursday ‌unanimously proposed to scrap longstanding Wall Street regulations requiring the execution of stock trades at the best available price, saying the rules drove up costs and complexity and were no longer necessary.

"I've opposed the trade-through rule ‌since its inception and have elaborated on my concerns from this very stage," SEC Chair Paul Atkins said at a public meeting of the five-member bipartisan commission, which currently has only three Republican members.

Wall Street 'Order Protection Rule'

The SEC is the main regulator of U.S. stock markets.

The Wall Street “Order Protection Rule” is a rule designed to make sure investors get the best available price when buying or selling stocks.

While the regulator said the rule is outdated and adds unnecessary complexity to markets and the new Proposal could reshape US stock trading rules by eliminating price protection requirements across exchanges

The SEC argues the rule no longer reflects modern electronic trading conditions

It said the move would overhaul key market structure safeguards for US equities as the proposal aims to simplify trading rules by removing protections designed to ensure best prices across exchanges

It aims to simplify trading rules by removing protections designed to ensure best prices across exchanges