Report from FINRA Board of Governors Meeting – March 2020

Board Approves Allocations of 2019 Fines and Proposed Trade-Reporting Fees Related to Treasury Securities

WASHINGTON – FINRA’s Board of Governors met on March 11 for the first time in 2020. During the meeting, held remotely in light of the coronavirus outbreak, the Board discussed a variety of topics, including FINRA’s long-term planning and financial sustainability. As is now customary for the first meeting of the year, the Board also approved the allocation of prior-year fine monies to various capital initiatives in accordance with FINRA’s Financial Guiding Principles, which the Board reaffirmed in December. FINRA plans to release details about the allocations in a forthcoming Report on the Use of 2019 Fine Monies.

In addition, the Board approved proposed amendments to assess transaction fees on Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE)-reporting of U.S. Treasury securities. Since implementing the TRACE for Treasuries reporting program in July 2017, FINRA has funded the program’s operations without assessing any reporting fees. The fee proposal would recoup FINRA’s costs relating to the TRACE for Treasuries program that have not otherwise been funded through prior-year fines, and would need to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for public notice and comment before the amendments go into effect.

Also at the March meeting, the Board approved proposed changes to FINRA systems and operations to comply with FINRA’s oversight obligations as a self-regulatory organization in the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) environment. As industry members begin reporting to the CAT, the changes approved at the Board meeting will enable FINRA to integrate this data into its surveillance patterns and other applications and to adapt its examination programs accordingly, as required.

The Board also received a report on cybersecurity from FINRA’s Chief Information Security Officer.

More information regarding the Board's operations, including the membership and responsibilities of its committees, is available at www.finra.org/governance.

About FINRA

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. It regulates one critical part of the securities industry—brokerage firms doing business with the public in the United States. 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.