Report from FINRA Board of Governors Meeting – December 2021

Board Approves Rule Proposals and FINRA’s 2022 Budget, Appoints SFAC and NAC Members

WASHINGTON – FINRA’s Board of Governors met on Dec. 1-2 in New York. During the meeting, it approved two rule proposals and FINRA’s 2022 budget, appointed members to the Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC) and National Adjudicatory Council (NAC), and received the results of recent SFAC and Regional Committee elections.

As is customary for its last meeting of the year, the Board discussed FINRA’s finances and other long-term planning. The Board reviewed FINRA’s financial performance from 2021 and approved the organization’s 2022 proposed budget, scheduled to be published in the coming months.

The Board also appointed several members to the SFAC—a committee that ensures that issues of particular interest and concern to small firms are effectively communicated to and considered by FINRA—and to the NAC, which hears appeals of or reviews FINRA disciplinary cases and maintains the organization’s Sanction Guidelines. In addition, the Board received an update on recently concluded Regional Committee and SFAC elections. The new members of all three groups will be announced via an Election Notice later this month.

Rulemaking

The Board approved two rule proposals at the December meeting. For general information about FINRA’s rulemaking process, see www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulemaking-process.

• Amendments Regarding Electronic Service and Filing and Use of a Portal for Filing and Serving Documents with the Office of Hearing Officers – The Board approved the submission to the SEC of proposed rule amendments to make permanent the temporary service and filing rules for disciplinary proceedings and appeals that were adopted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide for a portal for the electronic submission of documents in disciplinary proceedings to the Office of Hearing Officers.
• Accelerated Processing of Arbitration Proceedings for Elderly or Seriously Ill Parties – The Board approved publication of a Regulatory Notice soliciting comment on proposed amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure to accelerate case processing for seriously ill parties and parties who are 75 or older.

The next FINRA Board of Governors meeting is scheduled for March 9-10, 2022. 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.