LiquidityBook, a leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based provider of buy- and sell-side trading solutions, announced the launch of a new Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) reporting solution. CAT reporting has always been among the sell-side reporting functionalities available to LiquidityBook’s OMS customers, but demand from non-OMS clients prompted the firm to develop a solution on a standalone basis for those who using either a competing OMS or no OMS at all.

The new functionality will help broker-dealers – including Outsourced Trading firms using LiquidityBook’s LBX Outsourced Trader platform – navigate the transition from Order Audit Trail System (OATS) reporting to CAT reporting. The phased rollout of the new reporting regime began earlier this year, and Phase 2a – in which large industry members and small OATS reporters alike must begin reporting firm-to-firm linkage validations and equity exchange and TRF linkage validations – began on October 26.

The solution, which was soft launched to a select group of high-performance clients earlier this year, will be particularly impactful for firms that do not use an OMS and whose EMS providers do not support CAT reporting. Already, LiquidityBook has onboarded several clients whose previous systems could no longer support the reporting requirements of the new regulatory order.

“Given that the CAT has had an enormous effect on how trading firms handle their customer data, we saw a large amount of interest from firms whose existing OMS and/or EMS provider could not provide the reporting capability for one reason or another, leaving firms with a very clear business risk to their organization – perhaps rendering it inoperable,” said Sean Sullivan, Chief Revenue Officer at LiquidityBook. “Our team has built a solution that will help the industry navigate this shifting regulatory landscape. We are pleased to be able to fill the void and offer CAT reporting to players who were underserved by their previous systems as well as our existing clients.”

“There is no question that the implementation of CAT has created new complexities from a compliance standpoint,” said Daniel Dispigna, Chief Operating Officer at Tourmaline Partners, an industry-leading outsourced trading solutions provider and longtime LiquidityBook client. “Working with LiquidityBook allows us to meet these challenges with as much efficiency as possible. Their reporting solution is robust and versatile, helping us satisfy our own reporting requirements as well as serve the needs of our diverse and growing client base.”

The new CAT reporting tool is the latest addition to LiquidityBook’s suite of regulatory reporting solutions. The firm has offered MiFID II reporting tools since the framework’s implementation in early 2018, and more recently it upgraded its SEC Rules 605 and 606 reporting toolkit to meet the new requirements introduced earlier this year.