Wall St. watchdog to shut penny-stock market, boost OTC oversight

Wall Street’s industry-funded watchdog plans to shutter its antiquated, quarter-century old trading system for penny stocks, while increasing its oversight of over-the-counter (OTC) securities traded elsewhere, according to a regulatory filing. In the early 1990s, if retail investors or other market participants wanted to see a price quote for an unlisted stock, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB) system, which was started for just that purpose, was the place to look. But over the years private firms have enabled electronic trading in OTC stocks, and the OTCBB, which brokers still have to pick up a phone to trade through, has seen its market share slide to well under 1 percent. More on Reuters here.