Pursuant to NASD Rule 6660, in circumstances in which it is necessary to protect investors and the public interest , FINRA has been granted authority to halt trading and quotations in OTC securities (as such term is defined in NASD Rule 6610) if:

1. the OTC Equity Security or the security underlying an American Depository Receipt ("ADR") that is an OTC Equity Security ("OTC ADR") is listed on or registered with a foreign securities exchange or market, and the foreign securities exchange, market, or regulatory authority overseeing such issuer, exchange, or market, halts trading in such security for regulatory reasons because of public interest concerns ("Foreign Regulatory Halt"); provided, however, that FINRA will not impose a trading and quotation halt if the Foreign Regulatory Halt was imposed solely for material news, a regulatory filing deficiency, or operational reasons;*
2. the OTC Equity Security or the security underlying an OTC ADR is a derivative or component of a security listed on or registered with a national securities exchange or foreign securities exchange or market ("listed security") and the national securities exchange, or foreign securities exchange or market imposes a trading halt in the listed security; or
3. FINRA determines that an extraordinary event has occurred or is ongoing that has had a material effect on the market for the OTC Equity Security or has caused or has the potential to cause major disruption to the marketplace and/or significant uncertainty in the settlement and clearance process.

In addition to the authority granted by rule 6660, FINRA will suspend trading in an OTC security in conjunction with a SEC initiated trading suspension.

For any questions or issues related to the halts, please contact FINRA Operations Department at (866) 776-0800.