Washington, DC — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that two new large-firm representatives have been elected to its Board of Governors, while a third new member has been appointed to its Independent Dealer/Insurance Affiliate seat. NYSE Regulation's Interim CEO, James F. Duffy, has assumed the seat held by Richard Ketchum before he became CEO of FINRA in March. Ketchum remains the Board's Chairman.
Elected by FINRA-registered large firms were Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas and Chairman of Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., and James D. Weddle, managing partner of Edward Jones. They replaced Robert McCann, formerly of Merrill Lynch, and Thomas Russo, formerly of Lehman Brothers, both of whom resigned their board seats in recent months.
Mark Casady, Chairman and CEO of LPL Financial, has been appointed to the Independent Dealer/Insurance Affiliate seat. This position was previously held by John Simmers of ING Advisors Network who resigned his seat earlier this year.
"All four new Board members will bring valuable expertise to assist FINRA in its mission to protect investors," said FINRA Chairman and CEO Ketchum. "We are grateful for their willingness to serve. Their knowledge, skills and accumulated wisdom will be considerable assets to the Board's deliberations and policymaking."
FINRA is overseen by a 23-person Board of Governors, with 11 seats held by Public Governors and 10 by Industry Governors. FINRA's CEO and the CEO of NYSE Regulation hold the remaining two seats. Large firms, consisting of 500 or more registered persons, and small firms, consisting of 150 registered persons or fewer, each have three seats on the Board. Medium-sized firms, with 151 to 499 registered persons, NYSE floor members, independent dealer/insurance affiliated firms and investment companies each have one seat.
FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through comprehensive regulation. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business - from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms; writing and enforcing rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms
For more information, please visit our Web site at www.finra.org.