WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved FINRA’s rule proposal addressing financial exploitation of seniors. FINRA today issued Regulatory Notice 17-11 announcing a February 5, 2018 effective date for the rule proposal.
News Releases & Statements
Charges Also Include Market Access Rule, Supervisory and Other Violations
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, along with the New York Stock Exchange; NYSE Arca; NYSE MKT; the four Bats Exchanges, Bats BZX, Bats BYX, Bats EDGA, and Bats EDGX; Nasdaq; Nasdaq BX; and the International Securities Exchange, today announced that they have commenced disciplinary proceedings against Lek Securities Corporation and its Chief Executive Officer, Samuel F. Lek, for aiding and abetting manipulative trading by one of its customers.
Part of New Initiative to Evaluate Various Aspects of Operations and Programs
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued a Special Notice seeking comment on how to enhance its programs for engagement with its members and other stakeholders, with particular focus on FINRA’s advisory and ad hoc committees, rulemaking process, member relations programs, and the information it provides regarding its programs and operations.
WASHINGTON – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has announced the appointment of Nathaniel Stankard as Senior Advisor to the CEO, effective immediately. In his new position, Stankard will provide counsel and strategic advice to President and CEO Robert W. Cook and FINRA’s senior management, and will assist with special projects.
New Securities Industry Essentials Exam Expands Entry Opportunities to the Securities Industry
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to streamline competency exams and facilitate opportunities for professionals seeking to enter or re-enter the securities industry.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has barred former K.C. Ward Financial registered representative Craig David Dima for making unauthorized and unsuitable trades totaling approximately $15 million in a 73-year-old retiree’s account, and for misrepresenting the reasons for the trades to the customer.
Opportunity for Military Spouses to Earn A Career-Enhancing Credential While Providing Financial Readiness to Military Service Members and Families
WASHINGTON — Starting today, the FINRA Investor Education Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship Program is accepting applications for its 2017 class of financial fellows — a unique program designed to increase the financial capability of U.S. service members and their families.
WASHINGTON — FINRA today launched its new Academic Corporate Bond TRACE Data product, an enhanced historical data product available solely to institutions of higher education.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that Albany, New York-based Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments (PKS) will pay nearly $3.4 million in restitution to a Native American tribe, after the tribe paid excessive sales charges on purchases of non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Business Development Companies (BDCs). In addition to ordering restitution, FINRA fined PKS $750,000 for its failures to supervise the sales of these securities.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that a FINRA hearing panel has expelled Plano, TX-based broker-dealer Red River Securities, LLC, barred its CEO Brian Keith Hardwick, and ordered the firm and Hardwick to jointly and severally pay $24.6 million in restitution to customers for fraudulent sales in five oil and gas joint ventures. The hearing panel found that the respondents engaged in a pattern of misrepresentations and omissions that spanned nearly four years and involved sales in the risky joint ventures.