Guidance

Regulatory Obligations

Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3 (Customer Protection Rule) requires firms that maintain custody of customer securities and safeguard customer cash to segregate these assets from the firm’s proprietary business.

The Sales Practice Complaint Report is a quarterly report that displays trends in complaints with Sales Practice problem codes as reported to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 4530. Note: prior to July 1, 2011, this report showed complaints reported pursuant to NASD Rule 3070(c) or NYSE Rule 351(d). For the purposes of the report, Sales Practice Complaints are evaluated against the number of representatives registered with the firm and the sales revenue of the firm.

The Financial Crimes Spotlight is a free webinar series hosted by FINRA’s Financial Intelligence Unit that focuses on how to detect and protect against emerging financial crimes and cyber-related threats and trends. 

These events are open to FINRA member firms only. Participants must provide their firm's broker-dealer number when registering.

Upcoming Webinars

Additional Webinars Coming Soon.

Background

A critical part of the registration process in the securities industry is the background investigation of applicants for registration and the timely and accurate reporting of information to the Central Registration Depository (CRD) system via the Form U4 (Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer).

In Regulatory Notice 23-17, FINRA announced its decision, effective November 30, 2023, to discontinue collecting INSITE data, pursuant to Rule 4540, at this time.  As a result, effective November 30, 2023, the Customer Debits Report was retired from the FINRA Report Center.

Q: Is the exemption under paragraph (f)(1)(B) of Rule 4360 for “members whose business is solely that of a Designated Market Maker... and who does not conduct business with the public” available to members whose business consists solely of market making activities on one or more national securities exchanges, regardless of whether the member is designated or registered in such capacity on a particular exchange? 

Background

FINRA administers qualification examinations that are designed to establish that persons associated with broker-dealers have attained specified levels of competence and knowledge pertinent to their function. Over time, the qualification examination program has increased in complexity to address new products and functions, and related regulatory concerns and requirements.

To assist firms in complying with SEC Rules regarding financial and operational matters, FINRA has published and will periodically update certain interpretations provided by the staff of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets.

The TRACE Quality of Markets Report Card for Securitized Products is a monthly status report for the reporting of transactions in Asset Backed Securities, Mortgage Backed Securities and other similar securities, collectively defined as "Securitized Products", to the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE). Firms are required to report trades in accordance with established FINRA rules and regulations.

Background

FINRA examines broker-dealers on a regular cycle basis, with firms posing greater risk receiving an examination more frequently. In connection with each of these examinations, FINRA prepares a report—which is available only to the relevant firm—addressing certain aspects of the firm's compliance with securities rules and regulations.

A motion to dismiss is a request made by a party to the arbitrator(s) to remove some or all claims raised by another party filing a claim. Rule 12504 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes and Rule 13504 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Disputes (collectively, the Codes) establish procedures that govern motions to dismiss.

The Cross-Market Equities Supervision Manipulation Report is a tool designed to provide firms feedback on exceptions that were generated based on the firm’s order entry and trading activity in a given surveillance period. The report covers two distinct analyses; layering and Cross-Market Quote Spoofing. This report is produced on a monthly basis.