Should the standard timeframe for reporting trades in fixed-income securities be narrowed down from 15 minutes to a single minute? Ask US securities industry association Sifma, and the answer is absolutely not.

“The proposed transition to one-minute reporting has neither been adequately examined or justified, nor do we believe that the proposed one-minute reporting rule can be adopted without exposing the broker-dealer community to significant liability and creating risk to the function of some fixed income markets,” snarls the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma) in its response to a request for comment by regulatory authority SEC.

“Fundamentally, subjecting the fixed income market to trade reporting requirements that appear to be inspired by the equities markets is misguided.”

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The continuing importance of bilateral negotiation in many fixed income markets – and then remaining reliance on manual processes in elements of trading and post-execution processing, on top – make for an unsuitable environment, the association argues.

“SIFMA believes a robust manual trade exemption, as well as a de minimis exemption to protect smaller dealer members,would be required if the Proposals move forward. The manual trade exemption as proposed, however, is not a panacea, and further, as we note, even one minute reporting for certain fully- electronic trades remains unworkable.”

The main system for trade reporting in the US is the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine, TRACE, with eligible securities being most dollar- denominated debt securities of corporate issuers, federal agencies, government-sponsored enterprises and the US Treasury, while the Real-Time Transaction Reporting System (RTRS) covers most municipal securities.