BROKER-DEALER -

FINRA Requests Information Regarding Firm Culture and Values -

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is requesting firms to submit information regarding their organizational culture and how those values impact business decisions. FINRA’s 2016 Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter defined “firm culture” as “the set of explicit and implicit norms, practices and expected behaviors that influence how employees make and carry out decisions in the course of conducting the firm’s business.” FINRA believes that a broker-dealer’s view of firm culture” influences how the firm conducts its business and manages conflicts of interest. For example, FINRA notes that firms have encountered $300 billion in fines and litigation costs related to cultural failures since 2010.