December 2018 Board Update

FINRA CEO Robert Cook, Chairman Bill Heyman, Board members and FINRA staff provide updates from the December 2018 FINRA Board of Governors meeting.

From the CEO

FINRA’s Board of Governors met last week in New York, and I am writing to share with you some updates from our discussions.

During the meeting, the Board approved two rulemaking items—described below—and approved FINRA’s 2019 budget. We expect to publish additional information related to FINRA’s finances in the new year.

The Board also appointed a new public Governor, Lance Drummond. The Board selected Lance because of his strong overall organizational leadership and management experience, which includes technology, operations and human resource expertise. We look forward to working alongside him as we continue to ensure our mission of investor protection and market integrity.

Also at the December meeting, the FINRA Board approved several updates to various governance documents and updated the charters of its various standing committees. We plan to enhance the information provided on the governance section of our website, including posting the standing committee charters, in the near future.

And finally, we continued a recent tradition of engaging with stakeholders during our Board meetings. This time, we were joined by SEC Director of the Division of Investment Management Dalia Blass.

For more information about the discussions that took place during the December 2018 FINRA Board of Governors meeting, please watch the December 2018 Board Report video. Our next meeting is February 28 – March 1, and I will preview with you highlights of that meeting’s agenda once details are finalized.

Sincerely,

Robert W. Cook
President and CEO

Rulemaking Items Approved at the December 2018 Board Meeting

Proposal to Prohibit Compensated Non-Attorney Representatives (NARs) in Arbitration and Mediation
The Board approved filing with the SEC proposed amendments to the Codes of Arbitration and Mediation Procedure relating to prohibiting compensated non-attorney representatives from practicing in the FINRA arbitration and mediation forum.

Proposed Changes to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure Relating to Codification of Expungement Guidance
The Board approved proposed amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure for Customer and Industry Disputes to codify the Notice to Arbitrators and Parties on Expanded Expungement Guidance and modify the fees for small claim expungement.