Politician revives the flash order debate

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The political battle over market structure is certainly heating up. Sen. Edward Kauffman has certainly made his voice heard on the whole panoply of market structure issues. Sen. Charles Schumer has also weighed in on various issues. Together, the two politicians supported the recent move to end the practice of offering flash orders to big customers.

Many expect the SEC to formally ban the practice; the Nasdaq and BATS were essentially forced to stop offering such orders. Direct Edge cut back on "flare orders" but continues to allow flash orders.

Now other politicians are starting to wade into the debate. Rep. Spencer Bachus has recently questioned some SEC proposals, terming its approach "ad hoc," according to Dow Jones. Bachus demanded responses to 15 questions touching on recent moves by the SEC, including a proposed ban on the "flash orders." He would like to know the economic rationale.

"If one of the commission's mandates is to promote competition, how will investors benefit from eliminating the ability of broker-dealers, exchanges, and trading systems to compete for order flow by banning execution methods?" he wrote.

Bachus has reportedly received donations from trading firms Getco LLC and Knight Capital Group. Rep. Jeb Hensarling signed onto the letter; he has received a donation from Knight Capital. The flash order issue perhaps is not settled.

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