Wall Street watchdog says to spend up to $12 million on new data collection system

A mammoth data-collection system that Wall Street’s industry-funded watchdog wants to develop to ramp up its oversight of the securities industry would cost an estimated $8 million to $12 million to build, the regulator said on Tuesday. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced the figures in a revised proposal that includes the most details to date about the controversial system, which would ultimately require approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FINRA is asking the industry and public for input on a revised version of its plan, it said in a regulatory notice on Tuesday. The plan, known as the Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System, or CARDS, has caused a stir on Wall Street since FINRA unveiled it in late 2013. More on Reuters here.