Remote Inspections Pilot Program Year Two Reminder

November 13, 2024

Features
  • Remote Inspections Pilot Program Year Two Reminder 
    Firms have until Dec. 27 to opt in to participate in the second year of the Remote Inspections Pilot Program, which runs Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025. Read Regulatory Notice 24-02 and frequently asked questions for details. 
     
  • Funding FINRA’s Mission 
    FINRA filed a plan with the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase member fees to support FINRA’s mission over the next five years, from 2025 through 2029. “The bulk of the fee increase will be delayed until 2026 and phased in over several years to provide members with time to plan for budgeting purposes. The fee increase is intended to maintain the existing distribution of FINRA’s regulatory costs across the different sizes of firms and types of business models in our membership. This financial plan should enable FINRA to perform its regulatory responsibilities through 2029 for the benefit of investors, members and capital markets alike,” FINRA Board Chair and Public Governor Eric Noll, Finance Committee Chair and Large Firm Governor Scott A. Curtis, and FINRA President and Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Cook wrote in a letter to firms. 
     
  • Latest FINRA Podcast Episode Focuses on FINRA's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) 
    Tune in to hear how the SIU works to proactively identify and mitigate threats related to money laundering, market abuse and other fraud. 
     
  • Call for Candidates: National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) 
    Firms will soon have the opportunity to vote to fill one large firm and one small firm seat on the NAC, choosing from either the FINRA Nominating Committee nominee for each seat or from candidates who satisfy the requirements to be added to the ballot. Anyone interested in becoming a candidate must first submit a completed candidate profile form to FINRA’s Corporate Secretary and then submit by Dec. 23 the required number of petitions in support of his or her nomination. Read the Election Notice for details.
Guidance, Upcoming Deadlines, Effective Dates
New
Reminders
  • WebEFT Retirement: In response to feedback from members, FINRA has extended WebEFT access until April 30, 2025, for firms that have started their transition from WebEFT to APIs by this Nov. 15. The extension gives those firms additional opportunity to complete the required development to fully onboard to the API platform. WebEFT subscribers not migrating to APIs will no longer have access to WebEFT after Nov. 15, as previously announced. 
     
  • SFAC and Regional Committee Elections: FINRA mailed ballots to the executive representatives of firms that are eligible to vote for candidates to fill vacant seats on the Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC) and Regional Committees. Read the Election Notices in the links above for candidate profiles and voting instructions. Eligible firms have until Nov. 18 to cast their ballot. 
     
  • 2025 Renewals Program: Members can now view key dates and deadlines for FINRA’s 2025 Renewals Program. Preliminary Statements are now available in E-Bill for firms to view and print, and full payment of Preliminary Statement fees is due Dec. 9. 
     
  • Form U4 Functionality to Identify RSLs: Firms that have designated a non-registered private residence are required to answer a question on Form U4—the Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer—to identify Residential Supervisory Locations (RSLs) in compliance with amended FINRA Rule 3110.19(d). Those firms now are required to answer the RSL question as either “yes” or “no” by Dec. 26, replacing the previous Oct. 15 deadline. Read the updated the RSL frequently asked questions for additional details. 
     
  • Remote Inspections Pilot Program Year Two Reminder: As mentioned above, firms have until Dec. 27 to opt-in to participate in the second year of the Remote Inspections Pilot Program, which runs Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025. Read Regulatory Notice 24-02 and frequently asked questions for details. 
     
  • 2025 and Q1 2026 Report Filing Due Dates: To assist members with financial reporting obligations, we announced due dates for Annual Report, Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single (FOCUS), Form Custody and supplemental FOCUS Report filings due in 2025 or the first quarter of 2026, the first of which is Jan. 27, 2025. As a reminder, these filings must be submitted electronically through FINRA Gateway. 
     
  • Comment on FINRA Requirements Governing Day Trading: FINRA is requesting comments from registered representatives, investors and other stakeholders on its requirements related to day trading. The request is part of FINRA's retrospective rule review to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of those requirements. The comment period ends Jan. 28, 2025. 
     
  • Amendments to FINRA Rule 3240: Updates to FINRA’s Borrowing From or Lending to Customers Rule go into effect April 28, 2025, strengthening the general prohibition against borrowing and lending arrangements between registered representatives and their customers, narrowing some exceptions, modernizing the “immediate family” definition and more.
Disciplinary Actions
FINRA publishes disciplinary actions to remind members of specific conduct that violates FINRA rules and may result in disciplinary action. The October 2024 Monthly Disciplinary Actions are available here.
Education and Compliance Programs      
  • Week II: Capstone | Nov. 17-22 | In-Person Event | Sold Out
  • Week I: Foundation | July 13-18, 2025 | In-Person Event
2025 FINRA Annual Conference | May 13-15, 2025 | Washington, DC | Hybrid Event
 
Resources
Member Firm Hub – The latest guidance, resources, educational opportunities and more.
 
Membership Application Program (MAP) Tools – Guidance and other resources to help current members prepare for their continuing membership application (CMA) and new applicants prepare for a new member application (NMA).
 
FINRA101 – An investor-focused video series firms can leverage to help customers avoid scams, understand trusted contacts and more.
 
FINRA Unscripted – A biweekly podcast that discusses a range of topics important to the securities industry.
 
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About FINRA
FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. FINRA regulates one critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business with the public in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.
Regulatory Contacts
FINRA By-Laws require member firms to maintain an email account on behalf of their executive representatives, to facilitate firm notification of important information. In light of this, requests from executive representatives to be removed from this email list cannot be honored.
 
Firms wishing to change the name or email address of their executive representative or designated assistant should use the FINRA Contact System: http://www.finra.org/FCS.
 
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