Regulatory Notice 12-01

Final 2012 Renewal Statements for Broker-Dealers, Investment Adviser Firms, Agents and Investment Adviser Representatives, and Branches

Published Date:

January 03, 2012

Payment Deadline: February 3, 2012

BD and IA Renewals for 2012

Regulatory Notice
Notice Type Renewals	Referenced Rules & Notices NTM 02-48
Suggested Routing Compliance Finance Legal Operations Registered Representatives Registration Senior Management	Key Topics Web CRD® IARD™ Registration Renewals

Payment Deadline: February 3, 2012

Executive Summary

FINRA is issuing this Notice to help firms review, reconcile and respond to their Final Renewal Statements as well as view the reports that are currently available in Web CRD/IARD for the annual registration renewal process. The payment deadline is February 3, 2012.

Questions concerning this Notice should be directed to the FINRA Call Center at (301) 869-6699.

Background & Discussion

Final Renewal Statements

On January 3, 2012, Final Renewal Statements and reports became available for viewing and printing in Web CRD. These statements reflect the final status of broker-dealer, registered representative, investment adviser firm, investment adviser representative, and branch registrations and/or notice filings as of December 31, 2011. Any adjustments in fees owed because of registration terminations, approvals, firm IA registrations or notice filings subsequent to the Preliminary Renewal Statement are included in this final reconciled statement.

If the amount assessed on the Final Renewal Statement is greater than the amount assessed on the Preliminary Renewal Statement, the additional renewal fees are due by February 3, 2012. If the amount assessed on the Final Renewal Statement is less than the amount assessed on the Preliminary Renewal Statement, FINRA has issued a credit to the firm's Web CRD/IARD Daily Account.

The Final Renewal Statements include the following fees (if applicable):

• Web CRD system processing fees;

• FINRA branch office fees;

• FINRA branch renewal processing fees;

• American Stock Exchange (AMEX), BATS Y-Exchange, Inc. (BATS-YX), BATS Z-Exchange, Inc. (BATS-ZX), NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (BX), C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated (C2), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), EDGA Exchange, Inc. (EDGA), EDGX Exchange, Inc. (EDGX), International Securities Exchange (ISE), NASDAQ Stock Exchange (NQX), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NYSE Arca, Inc. (ARCA) and NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc. (PHLX) maintenance fees;

• state agent renewal fees;

• state BD renewal fees;

• investment adviser firm and representative renewal fees, if applicable; and

• broker-dealer and/or investment adviser branch renewal fees.

FINRA must receive full payment of the Final Renewal Statement fees by February 3, 2012.

Renewal Payment

A Final Renewal Statement that reflects a zero balance requires no further action by the firm. If you believe your firm overpaid and is due a renewal refund, please check your firm's Daily Account to verify FINRA transferred the overpayment. As a service to firms, FINRA transfered all renewal overpayments to each firms' Daily Accounts on January 3, 2012. To request a refund check, have an appropriate signatory send a request on firm letterhead and mail to:

FINRA Finance Department
9509 Key West Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850

If the Final Renewal Statement reflects an amount due, FINRA must receive payment no later than February 3, 2012. Firms have four payment options:

1. Automatic Daily Account-to-Renewal Account Transfer;

2. Web CRD/IARD E-Pay;

3. check; or

4. wire transfer.

Automatic Daily Account-to-Renewal Account Transfer

To facilitate payment of renewal fees, FINRA will automatically transfer funds from a firm's Daily Account to its Renewal Account on February 5, 2012, to cover outstanding fees as of the Final Renewal Statement payment deadline. FINRA will transfer funds only if a firm has sufficient funds available in its Daily Account on February 3 to cover the full amount owed.

Please Note: If your firm does not want funds automatically transferred, ensure that FINRA receives your payment by February 3. Separately, if your firm wishes to transfer funds between affiliated firms, submit a Web CRD/IARD Account Transfer Form available on the FINRA website prior to the renewal deadline.

Web CRD/IARD E-Pay

The Web CRD/IARD E-Pay application is accessible from the Final Renewal Statement and the FINRA or IARD websites. E-Pay allows a firm to make an electronic payment from a designated bank account to its Web CRD/IARD Renewal Account. Please note that in order for funds to be posted to a firm's Renewal Account by February 3, 2012, firms must submit payment electronically, no later than 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on February 1, 2012.

Check

The check should be drawn on the firm's account and you should plan for U.S. mail delivery and payment processing time. To ensure prompt processing of your renewal payment check:

• include a print-out of the first page of your Final Renewal Statement with your check made payable to FINRA (do not include any other forms or fee submissions);

• write your firm's CRD number and "Renewal" on the check memo line; and

• mail payment to:

U.S. Mail	Overnight or Express Delivery
FINRA P.O. Box 7777-W8705 Philadelphia, PA 19175-8705 (Note: This box will not accept courier or overnight deliveries.)	FINRA Attention: 8705 500 Ross Street, 154-0455 Pittsburgh, PA 15262 Telephone: (240) 386-4848

Please note: The addresses for renewal payments are different from the addresses for funding firms' Web CRD/IARD Daily Account.

Wire Payment

A firm may wire full payment for its Final Renewal Statement by requesting its bank to initiate the wire transfer to "Mellon Financial, Philadelphia, PA." A firm should provide its bank the following information:

• Transfer funds to: Mellon Financial, Philadelphia, PA

• ABA Number: 031 000 037

• Beneficiary: FINRA

• FINRA Account Number: 8-234-353

• Reference Number: Firm CRD number and "Renewals"

To ensure prompt processing of a renewal payment by wire transfer, remember to:

• inform the bank to credit the funds to the FINRA bank account;

• provide the firm's CRD number and "Renewal" as reference only; and

• record the confirmation number of the wire transfer provided by the bank.

Renewal Reports

Renewal reports include all individual registrations renewed for 2012; however, they do not include registrations that were "pending approval" or "deficient" at year-end. Firms should examine their reports carefully to ensure that all registration approvals are correct. FINRA also suggests that firms include these reports in firms' permanent records.

Firm Renewal Report: This report lists all renewed personnel with FINRA and participating regulators. Individuals whose registrations are "approved" with any of these regulators during November and December will be included in this report, while registrations that are still pending or deficient will not be included. Firms should use this report to reconcile their records for renewal purposes.

Branches Renewal Report: This report lists each branch registered with FINRA and other regulators that renew branches registered with them through Web CRD/IARD for which the firm was assessed a fee. Firms should use this report to reconcile their records for renewal purposes.

Discrepancies

If a firm finds any discrepancies between its records and those maintained on Web CRD/IARD, the firm must report the discrepancy to FINRA at the same address used for refund requests. Firms must report all discrepancies by February 3, 2012. Copies of appropriate documentation from the firm's Web CRD/IARD queues, such as a Web CRD-generated notice of termination, notification of deficient condition, or notice of approval, should be readily available upon request by FINRA.

The 2012 Renewal Program Bulletin contains detailed instructions to help firms complete the renewal process. This publication is available at www.finra.org/renewals.