The Financial Edge — The Open Finding Issue
October 7, 2026
From Bo Howell
Your regulator already told you what is broken. The SEC fined OTC Link LLC $575,000 because examiners flagged policy gaps on several exams between 2016 and 2025 and the firm did not close them. This issue pairs that case with a cost decision on your desk: the Texas Stock Exchange now publishes a three-tier annual ETF listing fee schedule, paired with daily stipends for lead market makers. One story is a lesson in follow-through. The other is a lesson in what you are actually paying for. In both, the rule is public, the exposure is quantifiable, and the fix is a decision your firm controls.
FROM THE BLOG
ENFORCEMENT
OTC Link pays $575,000 for an exam finding it left open
The SEC fined OTC Link LLC $575,000 on September 22, 2026, after examiners flagged Regulation SCI policy gaps on several exams between 2016 and 2025.
$575K
SEC penalty
2016-2025
Exam findings window
Mar 2025
Conduct ended
Key takeaways
- Track every finding. Assign an owner and a closing date.
- Enforce what you write. Filed procedures alone are not compliance.
- Escalate repeat findings. Report them to senior management.
Why it matters
“An exam finding is not a suggestion. Left open across years of exams, it stops being a warning and becomes your enforcement file.”
FROM THE BLOG
ETF LISTINGS
TXSE ETF listing fees: you are buying liquidity, not a ticker
The Texas Stock Exchange set annual exchange traded product listing fees at $100,000, $55,000, or $10,000 and pays lead market makers daily stipends.
$100K
Highest tier, annual
$55K
Middle tier, annual
$10K
Lowest tier, annual
Oct 1
Federal Register date
Key takeaways
- Model the tiers. Compare each fee against expected trading volume.
- Ask about market makers. Confirm who quotes and meets standards.
- Read the filing. Review SR-TXSE-2026-030 before you commit.
Why it matters
“The stipend goes to lead market makers who meet performance standards, which means your listing fee is really the price of liquidity, not a ticker.”
COMPLIANCE CORNER
OPEN FILES
Regulation SCI requires policies you enforce, not shelf documents
OTC Link's conduct ran from August 2016 to March 2025, and the SEC found it failed to establish, maintain, and enforce the written policies and procedures that Regulation SCI requires for OTC Link ATS.
Litigation watch
- SEC press release 2026-91: OTC Link LLC censured and fined $575,000 on September 22, 2026 for repeated Regulation SCI compliance failures.
- SR-TXSE-2026-030, SEC Release No. 34-106505: the TXSE fee schedule took effect immediately on filing and was published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2026.
- Enforcement trend: the OTC Link case shows the SEC penalizing gaps that examiners already identified. Treat every exam finding as a dated obligation.
- Watch for other exchange fee filings that pair annual listing fees with market maker stipends. Each one resets what sponsors pay for liquidity.
YOUR MOVE
FIRM MOVES
Close your open findings and price your listing
Clear every open exam finding this quarter, and test every listing fee against the liquidity it buys.
Broker-Dealers
- Pull every exam finding since 2016 and confirm each has a documented closure, an owner, and a date.
- If you operate an ATS, test whether your Regulation SCI written policies and procedures are enforced in daily practice, not only filed.
- Brief senior management on any finding that stays open past a single exam cycle.
Registered Investment Advisers
- If you sponsor exchange traded products, compare the $100,000, $55,000, and $10,000 TXSE tiers against expected trading volume.
- Ask the venue which lead market makers receive stipends and what performance standards they must meet.
- Read SR-TXSE-2026-030 in full before you commit your product to a listing venue.
- Treat every SEC exam deficiency letter as a dated obligation, and track it to closure with a named owner.