Should the Consolidated Audit Trail Have a Future?

Norbert Michel and Christian Kruse

Recently, three members of the House Financial Services Committee—Chairman Hill, Rep. Loudermilk, and Rep. Wagner—sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins outlining their continuing concerns with the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). A surveillance system that records every order, cancellation, and trade made on national stock exchanges, the CAT maintains one of the largest databases collecting information on Americans.