Market Regulation Services Inc. is seeking comment on trading rule revisions regarding off-marketplace trades.

On April 1, RS” board approved a series of revised amendments to the Universal Market Integrity Rules concerning: the ability of market participants and access persons to conduct trades other than by the entry of orders on a marketplace; the procedure for the execution of certain pre-arranged trades and intentional crosses and certain trades made to satisfy “best price” obligations; and, various related amendments.

Among other things, the revised proposal would: would change the determination of compliance with “best price” obligations from the time of order entry to the time of order execution; provide guidance on the “reasonable efforts” expected of a participant under its best price obligation when a trade executes on one marketplace and better-priced orders are indicated on a consolidated market display for another market; provide a mechanism to cap the obligation to fill better-priced orders to the disclosed volume of better-priced orders indicated on a consolidated market display in the case of certain pre-arranged trades or intentional crosses; and, clarify and modify the obligations to “move the market” when the trade would not qualify for a cap.

RS published the initial version of the proposed amendments on August 20, 2004. A provision in the original proposal that would require an Access Person to make reasonable efforts to fill better-priced orders on marketplaces prior to executing a trade at an inferior price has been deleted from the revised proposal. The concept of trade-through obligations of a Participant or an Access Person will be published as part of a separate proposal, it says.

Comments are due by May 30.