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 and compensation, tracking and performance metrics, complaints and discipline, compliance and supervision, among others.  The letter also imposes a November 15 response deadline.

The sweep letter does not expressly refer to the recent Wells Fargo cross-selling scandal or to Senator Warren’s ensuing broad-side calling for SEC Chair White’s resignation, but it does specifically ask for management or Board-level reviews of cross-selling that were initiated on or after September 1, 2016.

So, beyond potentially improper cross-selling itself, the take-away is that any major scandal in the headlines should prompt some level of self-evaluation on the scandal’s topic.

The targeted exam letter is here.

[View source.]