Limit Up/Limit Down (LULD) Plan

On May 31, 2012, the SEC approved the

 (Plan), which was filed by FINRA and the other self-regulatory organizations and is designed to address the type of sudden price movements that the market experienced on the afternoon of May 6, 2010. The Plan provides for a market-wide limit up and limit down (LULD) mechanism to prevent trades in NMS stocks from occurring outside of specified price bands, coupled with trading pauses to accommodate more fundamental price moves. The Plan is designed, among other things, to protect investors and promote fair and orderly markets. 

Price Bands

Pursuant to the Plan (see Section VI(A)(1)), transactions that both (1) do not update the last sale price (except if solely because the transaction was reported late) and (2) are excepted or exempt from the SEC's trade-through rule (Reg NMS Rule 611) can be executed outside the price bands. FINRA has created the following charts to assist members in identifying the types of transactions that qualify for this exclusion and properly coding when reporting the transactions to FINRA.

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