Board Approves Rulemaking Items and Annual Financial Report; Appoints New Members to Advisory Committees
WASHINGTON—FINRA’s Board of Governors held its second meeting of the year on May 11-12 in Fort Lauderdale, FL—near the organization’s Boca Raton office, the home of FINRA’s Securities Helpline for Seniors. The Board approved three rulemaking items and took action on three items related to governance.
The Board nominated a large-firm Governor for its upcoming Board election and discussed nominees for the National Adjudicatory Council. In addition, the Board appointed new members to FINRA’s Advisory Committees. These appointments begin on June 1, and follow the Board’s 2021 decision to apply term limits for Advisory Committee membership—upon the recommendation of FINRA’s Racial Justice Task Force—to facilitate greater diversity and increase opportunities for those who are interested in serving.
"The engagement of the Advisory Committees is invaluable to FINRA, as it helps us ensure our rules and programs reflect the diverse business models of firms and how they operate, the complexity of today’s markets, and the wide range of investors the industry serves," said FINRA CEO Robert W. Cook. "We welcome the new members and the broad array of perspectives they bring to our committees."
The Board also approved FINRA’s 2021 Annual Financial Report. Each year, FINRA publishes an Annual Financial Report in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles that—along with its Annual Budget Summary—describes how FINRA manages its finances to support its mission of protecting investors and promoting market integrity in a manner that facilitates vibrant capital markets. The 2021 report will be published this summer.
Rulemaking
The Board approved three rule proposals:
- Amendments Reducing the Syndicate Account Settlement Timeframe for Corporate Debt Offerings – The Board approved the submission to the SEC of proposed rule amendments to reduce the timeframe in which syndicate managers of public corporate debt offerings share syndicate revenues with syndicate members.
- Proposed Amendments Relating to Dissemination of Aggregated TRACE Data for Treasury Securities – The Board approved the submission to the SEC of proposed amendments to permit more frequent publication of aggregated transaction information on Treasury Securities, in response to a request from the U.S. Treasury Department.
- Changes to the Previously Filed Proposal for Special Arbitration Procedures for Expungement Relief – The Board approved proposed amendments to a proposal that was previously filed with the SEC establishing specialized arbitration panels for expungement requests.
For general information about FINRA’s rulemaking process, see www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulemaking-process.
The next FINRA Board of Governors meeting is scheduled for July 13-14, 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.