Subject: Arbitration

New Year’s Priorities: FINRA Releases its 2023 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program

Yes, (somehow) it is that time of year again. FINRA recently released its 2023 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report”). As is typical (and this blog has well-covered), it contains a mix of old and new priorities.

Priorities Previously Included: Reg BI and Form CRS, Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), Cybersecurity, Mobile Applications, Best Execution

New Priorities: An entire new category labeled Financial Crimes, Manipulative Trading, Fixed Income – Fair Pricing, Fractional Shares: Reporting and Order Handling, Regulation SHO

In general, FINRA breaks down the Report into five Categories: (1) Financial Crimes; (2) Firm Operations; (3) Communications and Sales; (4); Market Integrity; and (5) Financial Management. Within these categories, FINRA highlighted certain discrete topics. We discuss FINRA’s highlighted topics at greater length below.

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Brace for Impact: It’s Going to be (Another) Busy Year for FINRA

F. Scott Fitzgerald said “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” FINRA may be all of these in 2022, as FINRA CEO Robert Cook announced FINRA’s laundry list of priorities during a SIFMA Q&A last week. Below are some of the highlights from his Q&A.

Exam Time: Annual Exam and Risk Monitoring Findings

While Mr. Cook advised the “ink isn’t dry” on the 2022 priorities, he suggested broker-dealers can expect more of the same, with some new additions. New topics for examination will include: trusted contact person, disclosure of order routing, and intra-day trading.

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Wait Just a Minute: FINRA Loosens the Screws on Proposed Expungement Restrictions

Brokers seeking to expunge customer complaints from their records can sleep a bit easier. Richard Berry, head of FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR), stated last week that FINRA intends to tweak some restrictions that it had previously proposed on brokers’ abilities to seek expungement of customer complaints.

Notably, in late 2017 FINRA proposed a number of changes to the expungement process, including:

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FINRA Arbitrations — A Comprehensive Guide for 2018 and Beyond

Florham Park partner Tracey Salmon-Smith will participate in The Knowledge Group’s live webcast “FINRA Arbitrations: A Comprehensive Guide for 2018 and Beyond” on Friday, September 7, 2018. This is a must-attend event for attorneys practicing before FINRA and anyone interested in understanding the significant issues relating to FINRA Arbitrations.

In December 2017, the FINRA issued a proposal that will revamp and strengthen expungement rules. Proposed changes include adjustments to the timeframe of filing expungement requests and the mandated unanimous consent of a FINRA arbitration panel to grant expungement. Brokers, however, are opposing to the proposed changes.

During the webcast, Tracey and a panel of key thought leaders and practitioners will offer a discussion of the fundamentals and updates regarding these proposed changes as well as other developments concerning significant issues surrounding FINRA Arbitrations. This live webcast aims to help you to avoid common pitfalls and risk issues in the evolving climate of FINRA forum.

Click here to register for the webcast.