eFOCUS

Notice of Intent to Sole Source - eFOCUS

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to award a sole source contract to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to allow for the filing of Form X-17A-5 (“FOCUS Report”) Part II and Part IIC by non-broker-dealer non-bank security-based swap dealers and non-broker-dealer non-bank major security-based swap participants (collectively, “stand-alone SBSEs”), and bank security-based swap dealers and bank major security-based swap participants (collectively, “bank SBSEs”) on the same eFOCUS system used by broker-dealers.  The contract is expected to include ancillary ongoing services comparable to those provided for FINRA-supervised broker-dealers, and the transmission of the data in these filings to the SEC. More specifically, the contract is expected to provide the SEC with:

• The filing of FOCUS Report Part IIC by bank SBSEs on FINRA’s eFOCUS system;
• The filing of FOCUS Report Part II by stand-alone SBSEs on FINRA’s eFOCUS system; 
• Ancillary ongoing services associated with these filings (e.g., system updates, servicing filer accounts, Help Desk availability);
• Transmission to the SEC of the data in the FOCUS Report Part IIC filings by bank SBSEs; and
• Transmission to the SEC of the data in the FOCUS Report Part II filings by stand-alone SBSEs.

FINRA is the only known source that has been identified as capable of fulfilling the SEC’s requirement. The contract action is for services for which the SEC intends to solicit and negotiate with only a sole source under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 and 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. Negotiation will be conducted using other than full and open competition procedures pursuant to authority of FAR 6.302-1.

Responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. The SEC will not be responsible for any cost incurred in preparation of statements, proposal, or quotations. A determination by the SEC not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the SEC. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. No solicitation or additional information will be made available with regard to this sole source notice.

Any responses to this notice of contract action shall be submitted electronically to John Ramsey (ramseyj@sec.gov) and John Bova (bovaj@sec.gov) no later than 12:00 PM, EST, June 22, 2020.