(March 29 – 14:00 ET) – The Ontario Securities Commission has approved the new trading supervision and compliance standards proposed by the Toronto Stock Exchanges.

The TSE proposed the standards in the wake of the RT Capital trading scandal, which caught a number of the exchange’s member firms engaging in manipulative trading at RT’s direction.

The policy is designed to spell out the minimum elements of a brokerage firm’s trading supervision systems; and minimum compliance procedures for trading on the exchange. The new policy was published for comment on Dec. 8, 2000.

The approved policy contains a couple of revisions from the one the TSE board initially approved. A brief description of the role of a compliance department with respect to supervision and compliance was added. As well, the “Minimum Compliance Procedures for Trading Supervision” were revised to require brokers to check “25 original client tickets selected randomly over the quarter”.

The policy clarifies the obligations of brokerages to supervise its employees, directors and officers to ensure that trading is carried out in compliance with exchange requirements. It was developed after extensive consultation with members of the Joint Industry Compliance Group Institutional Committee, as well as representatives of several brokerages.

The new policy is effective immediately, but brokers will be given six months to bring themselves into compliance with the new standards.

TSE Regulation Services is offering a seminar on the new policy on Tuesday, April 24 and Tuesday, May 1 at the Corporate Seminar Centre, beginning at 08:00 ET.