December 2022 Board Meeting

December 21, 2022

The FINRA Board of Governors held its final meeting of the year last week, and I am pleased to share some updates from our discussions.

During the meeting, the Board approved two rule proposals—listed below—and approved FINRA’s 2023 proposed budget. In addition, the Board appointed new members to the Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC) and National Adjudicatory Council (NAC). These newly appointed members, as well as recently elected members of the SFAC and Regional Committees, were announced last week via an Election Notice.

The Board also previewed the 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, which will provide firms with insight into findings from recent oversight activities of FINRA's Regulatory Operations to help inform the development and operation of firms’ compliance programs. We anticipate publishing the report next month.

Our next meeting is scheduled for March 9-10, 2023. More information regarding the Board's operations, including the membership and responsibilities of its committees, is available at www.finra.org/governance. 

Sincerely,

Robert W. Cook
President and CEO

Rulemaking Items Approved at the December 2022 Board Meeting

  • Amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure – The Board approved the submission to the SEC of proposed amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure to make clarifying, technical and procedural changes to the arbitrator selection process. The amendments would codify current practices and guidance relating to arbitrator selection and increase selection opportunities for public arbitrators who are not chair-qualified.
     
  • Amendments Regarding Video Conference Hearings Before the Office of Hearing Officers (OHO) and the NAC – The Board approved the submission to the SEC of proposed rule amendments to make permanent the temporary rules that allow video conference hearings in disciplinary proceedings and appeals that were adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some modifications. The amendments would provide OHO and the NAC with authority to order video conference hearings, either by order of the adjudicator on its own or on motion of the parties.

Visit FINRA’s website for more information about FINRA’s rulemaking process.