The UK's Financial Services Authority is tendering for a supplier to upgrade its Sabre IT system, which monitors trading activity in the City.
According to a report by The Times, the regulator will spend £15m updating its computer surveillance system in a bid to combat what it has identified as institutional market abuse.
The upgrade will make it easier for firms to report dealings to the FSA and will provide more sophisticated tools to detect market abuse, says The Times.
The report says the FSA is looking to defend itself against claims that it has a poor record in fighting insider trading. The regulator believes the knowledge that it is tracking share deals and is targeting institutions will limit the amount of market abuse that occurs.