Maker-Taker Conflict of Interest Reform Act of 2015

Maker-Taker Conflict of Interest Reform Act of 2015

This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to initiate a six-month pilot program that examines maker-taker pricing (any pricing model by a trading venue that provides rebates, or comparable inducements, or fees to market participants to either provide liquidity to, or take liquidity from, that trading venue).

In conducting this program, the SEC is required to:

• identify, out of the 100 issuers with the most frequently-traded securities, a random sample of 50 issuers (the "sample group");
• prohibit the payment of rebates (or comparable inducements) on any trade of securities of the issuers in the sample group; and
• compare the effects of such prohibition on the issuers in the sample group compared to the other 50 issuers in the "control group."