180-Day Extension for Transition Period for Adding “D” to OTC Equity Symbols Subject to Corporate Actions

Effective with the Thursday, February 19, 2015, OTC Daily List, FINRA will extend the practice of appending the letter “D” to the root symbol of all OTC Equity securities subject to a Reverse Split and Forward Split with a CUSIP change. The practice of appending “D” was replaced with the addition of a “Subject to Corporate Action” flag, as detailed in the ORF technical specifications. This change had become effective on Monday, November 17, 2014, as part of the OTC Reporting Facility to FINRA’s Multi-Product Platform migration. However, as announced in the ORF technical notice on November 19, 2014, FINRA agreed to reinstate the practice of appending “D” effective November 20, 2014, for a 90-day period ending on February 19, 2015.

For a 180-day extension period, FINRA will continue the practice of appending “D” as a fifth character symbol to all OTC Equity symbols of issues subject to a Reverse Split and Forward Split with a CUSIP change in addition to continuing to use the “Subject to Corporate Action” flag. Effective Monday, August 17, 2015, FINRA will use the “Subject to Corporate Action” flag to identify OTC Equity issues that are subject to a Reverse Split and Forward Split with a CUSIP change. FINRA will also be assessing alternative methods to identify these securities and will advise the industry in a subsequent notification.

For more information, please contact FINRA Market Operations or call (866) 776-0800.