OTC Markets – NEW YORK – OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced 10 states now recognize its premium markets for the purposes of their “Blue Sky Manual Exemption” for secondary trading.

The latest additions to this growing list include Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, New Mexico and Rhode Island where securities regulators now recognize the OTCQX® and OTCQB® markets, as well as Kansas which now recognizes the OTCQX market.  This group joins the original four states to act: Iowa, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.  Each of the 10 states has tailored its approach to granting this exemption from no-action letters to rule changes and administrative orders.

“We are thrilled with the progress we’ve made in our campaign to aid state regulators in recognizing our premium trading markets for the purposes of the Blue Sky Manual Exemption,” said R. Cromwell Coulson, President and CEO of OTC Markets Group.  “The OTCQX and OTCQB markets are built for the digital age, serving investors’ need for real-time access to current public information.  Gaining recognition from 10 states, including Kansas which was the first state to enact Blue Sky Laws, is a major milestone in ultimately achieving our goal of national Blue Sky recognition.” 

State Blue Sky laws generally help investors make informed decisions by mandating that companies disclose accurate and current information when offering or marketing securities.  Regulators and brokers across the country rely on disclosure-based manual exemptions from individual state Blue Sky laws.  Forty-four U.S. states and jurisdictions maintain manual exemptions, which generally allow for secondary trading of qualifying companies as long as certain key information about the company is published in a nationally recognized securities manual or its electronic equivalent.  Each state determines which manuals qualify under its rules.

OTC Markets Group continues to actively work with other states that maintain a Blue Sky Manual Exemption and inform them of the easily accessible current disclosure available on OTCQX and OTCQB securities at www.otcmarkets.com.  The company is committed to working with the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and the remaining states to determine how best to qualify OTCQX and OTCQB traded securities based on their unique regulatory environment.