September 2023 Board Update

September 26, 2023

FINRA’s Board of Governors met recently in Philadelphia, and I am pleased to share some updates from our discussions.

The FINRA Board continued discussions around FINRA’s Regulatory Operations. The Board met with Bill St. Louis, who was recently appointed as Head of Enforcement, and received updates on FINRA’s ongoing crypto asset-related regulatory work, the work of the Office of Regulatory Economics and Market Analysis (REMA), surveillance-driven compliance support tools—including Report Cards—that assist firms in detecting potential compliance problems early on, as well as our increased proactive member firm engagement, education and intelligence-sharing with regard to cybersecurity. In addition, the Board received an overview of pending and final regulatory initiatives affecting member firms.

The Board also reaffirmed FINRA’s Financial Guiding Principles, which guide how we manage our resources to achieve our critical mission. The guiding principles are an integral part of the heightened transparency regarding FINRA’s finances, which also includes annual publications of FINRA’s audited Annual Financial Report, Annual Budget Summary and Report on the Use of Fine Monies. The Board also received an update on FINRA’s current financial projections and our path forward for funding FINRA’s mission of protecting investors and promoting market integrity while facilitating vibrant capital markets.

Our next Board of Governors meeting is scheduled for December 6-7. 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
FINRA CEO