The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has issued a special alert to its member firms, alerting them to an imposter website: www.finnra.org (containing an extra “n”)....more
The SEC recently announced the creation of the Event and Emerging Risks Examination Team (“EERT”) in its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”). ...more
Effective June 30, SEC Reg. BI requires broker-dealers to make recommendations only in the “best interests” of retail customers, imposing additional disclosure, care, conflicts-of-interest and compliance obligations....more
On May 28, 2020, FINRA issued its Regulatory Notice 20-16 sharing firms’ WFH practices observed to date. They include common practices adopted across most industries, as one would expect....more
On May 8, FINRA filed an expedited request for an immediate rule change that would allow service by email, extensions of time, and video-conference hearings in member-application, disciplinary proceedings and appeals. FINRA...more
The dispute-resolution arm of broker-dealer regulator FINRA has cancelled all in-person arbitration hearings and mediation sessions through July 3, 2020. In-person hearings originally were cancelled through May 1, then...more
On April 9, FINRA amended its customer arbitration rules to give customers more options when a Respondent firm or associated person becomes “inactive” during an arbitration....more
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton issued an April 2 public statement that the SEC will hold firm on its June 30, 2020 deadline for firms to implement Reg. BI and Form CRS. There had been industry...more
On March 27, securities regulator FINRA extended its previous postponement of in-person hearings from May 1 through May 31. FINRA also will offer virtual hearing options (including Zoom) by agreement or panel order....more
The SEC has gathered its guidance in a single location. Topics covered include:
(a) The SEC’s own Business Continuity Plan (“BCP”) and its implementation;
(b) Increased market monitoring and surveillance...more
3/20/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Event Cancellation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment ,
MSRB ,
Public Meetings ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This week FINRA issued Reg. Notice 20-08 on “Pandemic-Related Business Continuity Planning, Guidance and Regulatory Relief.”...more
3/12/2020
/ Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Telecommuting
FINRA held its bi-annual Cybersecurity Conference in January and recently published five take-away real-world experiences from the conference...more
2/27/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Hackers ,
Information Governance ,
Information Security ,
Information Technology ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Liquidity Management ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
OCIE ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Regulation BI ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vulnerability Assessments
FINRA issued a targeted-exam letter on February 20, 2020 seeking information on the effect of zero-commission trading upon compliance with related obligations of Best Execution, payment for order flow, and non-commission...more
2/26/2020
/ Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Charles Schwab ,
E*Trade ,
Fees ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Industry Examinations ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Sales Commissions ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
TD Ameritrade ,
Trading Policies ,
Wealth Management
On September 11, FINRA announced its filing of an enforcement action accusing a Massachusetts broker of fraud and registration violations arising from his sale of an unregistered cryptocurrency, “HempCoin.” It is FINRA’s...more
FINRA recently proposed to remove the broker’s “control” of a securities account as a required element of a “quantitative suitability” violation under Rule 2111....more
A pair of FINRA Rule revisions designed to protect seniors from financial exploitation become effective February 5. The Rules require member firms to obtain “Trusted Contact Person” information and impose short...more
1/29/2018
/ Amended Rules ,
Elder Abuse ,
Elder Issues ,
Exploitation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Investment Management ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Wealth Management
The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed that failure-to-supervise claims against a brokerage firm over outside business activities it knew nothing about nevertheless were arbitrable under FINRA Rule 12200(2) as “arising in...more
Effective April 3, 2017, all FINRA arbitration participants (except pro se parties) must use FINRA’s web-based DR-Portal to file and serve documents in both customer and industry arbitrations.
...more
2/8/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Electronic Filing ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Mediation ,
Portal ,
Pro Se Litigants ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
OCIE released its 2017 exam priorities on January 12. The priorities list was most notable for being shorter than prior years. But that likely means only more focus, rather than less vigor....more
1/13/2017
/ BSA/AML ,
Cybersecurity ,
ETFs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Money Market Funds ,
Municipal Advisers ,
OCIE ,
Pensions ,
Private Funds ,
Recidivism ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 4, new President and CEO Richard Cook issued FINRA’s Annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter. This year’s list in summary is:
New for 2017:
Targeted electronic off-site reviews “on select...more
1/6/2017
/ Big Data ,
BSA/AML ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Industry Examinations ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mutual Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
REIT ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities ,
Spoofing
In late October, FINRA issued a sweep exam, commanding firms to produce 15 categories of documents about firm’s cross-selling programs over a 5-year span. The sweep seeks information on cross-selling, including incentives...more
The Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) renewed its criticism of FINRA’s Broker-Check® system in a report issued in late October. PIABA was especially critical of the system’s:
Lack of synchronization...more
The SEC announced August 25 that it approved FINRA’s pay-to-play rules governing placement-agent or solicitor broker-dealers and was “prepared” to approve the extension of MSRB Rule G-37 to municipal advisors as well....more
9/8/2016
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment Adviser ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Rule 206(4)-5 ,
Rule G-37 ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In a July 22 Notice, FINRA took umbrage at a growing line of Court decisions suggesting that a later or more-specific forum selection clause in an agreement between the parties may override a prior customer arbitration...more
For years, self-regulatory agencies (like FINRA or the Exchanges) have wielded the statutory authority granted them by Congress – and backed by the SEC – exercising governmental power to compel testimony, impose fines and...more