WASHINGTON—FINRA today announced it has fined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) $1.25 million for failing to conduct timely or adequate background checks on approximately 10,400 non-registered associated persons spanning a seven-year period.
News Releases & Statements
Total of 56 Settlements Reached with Member Firms Resulting in $89 Million in Restitution to Eligible Charitable and Retirement Accounts
WASHINGTON—FINRA announced that it has reached settlements with 56 member firms and obtained a total of $89 million in restitution for nearly 110,000 charitable and retirement accounts as a result of its mutual fund fee waiver initiative.
WASHINGTON—FINRA today announced that it has released new guidance regarding credit for extraordinary cooperation in investigations. Regulatory Notice 19-23 supplements prior FINRA guidance, providing additional information about “extraordinary cooperation” respondents can provide to substantially assist FINRA in meeting its goals of investor protection and market integrity.
WASHINGTON – Market participants have raised questions concerning the application of the federal securities laws and the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) to the potential intermediation—including custody—of digital asset securities1 and transactions.
Firm Sanctioned for Failing to Reasonably Supervise Recommended Securities Transactions and Use of Consolidated Reports
WASHINGTON—FINRA announced today that it has sanctioned Summit Brokerage Services, Inc. (Summit) a total amount exceeding $880,000 for supervisory failures, including approximately $558,000 in restitution to customers whose accounts were excessively traded by a former registered representative of the firm who was previously barred by FINRA.
National Comprehensive Survey of Financial Capability Finds Younger Americans, Those With Lower Incomes, African-Americans and Those Without a College Degree Facing Toughest Financial Struggles
WASHINGTON – The FINRA Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) today announced the recipients of its higher-education awards created to recognize outstanding analyses by researchers-in-training who seek to advance understanding of consumer well-being and the complex relationships among financial literacy, financial capability and financial well-being.
Washington D.C., May 23, 2019 – In recognition of the one-year anniversary of the passage of The Senior Safe Act, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have issued a fact sheet to help raise awareness among broker-dealers, investment advisers, and transfer agents of the Act and how the Act’s immunity provisions work.
Digital Experience Transformation Invites Firms to “Help Us Design the Future” of Compliance Reporting and Management
WASHINGTON – FINRA announced today that it is launching an initiative to transform the digital platform that firms use to engage with FINRA across several programs. The Digital Experience Transformation, as it is being called, is a wide-ranging, multi-year effort to integrate and simplify brokerage firms’ digital interactions with FINRA, facilitating more efficient and effective compliance programs.
WASHINGTON – FINRA’s Board of Governors met on May 6 and 7 in New York City. During the meeting, the Board received updates on FINRA’s regulatory operations, including a status report on FINRA’s 529 plan self-reporting initiative and draft guidance around when Enforcement would grant firms credit for extraordinary cooperation during the enforcement process. That guidance will be published in a future Regulatory Notice.