Changes Are Part of Ongoing FINRA360 Initiative
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced several changes to its advisory committees to increase transparency around the committees and improve their effectiveness as a vehicle for firms to provide input on key issues before FINRA, including on existing and proposed rules.
News Releases & Statements
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that a FINRA extended hearing panel barred broker Hank Mark Werner of Northport, New York, for fraudulently churning and excessively trading the accounts of his customer – a blind, elderly widow – and for making unsuitable recommendations. The hearing panel also ordered Werner to pay more than $155,000 in restitution to the widow, fined him $80,000 and ordered disgorgement of more than $10,000 representing commissions received for recommending the purchase of an unsuitable variable annuity.
WASHINGTON — The FINRA Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) and the Filene Research Institute (Filene) today announced the availability of free resources to help credit unions and employers with turn-key start-up of a small-dollar loan program designed to help workers avoid the high cost of alternative borrowing, establish or repair credit, and begin to save.
The Employer-Sponsored Small-Dollar Loan (ESSDL) feasibility study, implementation guide, and customizable marketing materials are available for download at Filene.org/ESSDL.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that Susan F. Axelrod will leave FINRA for other opportunities in the private sector after 28 years of service at the organization and its predecessor, NYSE Regulation. Axelrod has served as FINRA’s Executive Vice President for Regulatory Operations since 2013, where she has been responsible for leading the Member Regulation program, the Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence, Enforcement, and Shared Services.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued two Regulatory Notices requesting comment on two proposals related to its arbitration program: a proposal to expand the options available to investors when filing a claim in arbitration against an inactive firm or associated person, and a second proposal related to compensated non-attorney representatives that provide public investors an alternative to representation by attorneys in disputes between investors and broker-dealers.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has ordered Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution to affected customers for unsuitable recommendations of volatility-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs) and related supervisory failures. FINRA found that between July 1, 2010, and May 1, 2012, certain Wells Fargo registered representatives recommended volatility-linked ETPs without fully understanding their risks and features.
Rule Change Expands Entry Opportunities to the Securities Industry
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s rule proposal to streamline competency exams and expand opportunities for prospective securities professionals seeking to enter or re-enter the securities industry.
FINRA today issued Regulatory Notice 17-30 announcing an Oct. 1, 2018, effective date for the rule change.
Securities Regulators Around the World Are Shining a Spotlight on Investor Education and Protection
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced its participation in the first World Investor Week, Oct. 2-8, to increase awareness of investor education and protection tools and information.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC $3.25 million and required the firm to pay approximately $9.78 million in restitution to more than 3,000 affected customers for failing to supervise its representatives’ short-term trades of unit investment trusts (UITs).
FINRA Committed to Enhancing Diversity of Arbitrator and Mediator Pool; Providing Greater Transparency into Arbitrator Demographic Makeup
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution is holding an arbitrator and mediator recruitment event at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., September 21 – September 24.