Under the revised obligations:
- Market Makers will be required to respond to quote requests within 20 seconds (they currently have up to 90 seconds to respond);
- The minimum holding time for quotes provided in response to quote requests will be 20 seconds (the current minimum is 10 seconds), unless there is a change in the nominal price of the underlying security during that period; and
- The minimum number of option series assigned to a Market Maker providing continuous quotes will be 18 series per option class (the current minimum is 12 series per option class).
"Increasing the option series with continuous quotes will further increase price transparency, and we expect the longer holding time for quotes will make it easier for market participants to execute their orders," Mr Conroy added.