Proposed Amendments to FINRA Rule 6440 (Trading and Quotation Halt in OTC Equity Securities)

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) a proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 6440 (Trading and Quotation Halt in OTC Equity Securities) to clarify that FINRA may (1) initiate a trading and quotation halt in an OTC Equity Security upon notice of a foreign regulatory halt for news pending, including notice from a reliable third-party source; (2) continue to halt trading and quoting in such OTC Equity Security until notice from the appropriate foreign regulatory authority is received that it has or intends to resume trading in the security, even if such halt is longer than 10 business days; and (3) extend a halt initiated under Rule 6440(a)(3) for an extraordinary event beyond 10 business days if it determines that the basis for the halt still exists.