Election Notice – 9/3/24

Call for Candidates for Upcoming FINRA Regional Committee Elections

Published Date:
Nomination Deadline: October 3, 2024

Summary

The purpose of this Notice is to notify member firms of the upcoming nomination and election process to fill vacancies on FINRA’s Regional Committees. The Regional Committees play an important part of informing FINRA’s regulatory programs by, among other things, alerting FINRA to industry trends that could present regulatory concerns and consulting with FINRA on proposed policies and rule changes. In general, Regional Committees meet twice per year primarily in person in locations within the respective region (although meeting schedules and frequency may vary by region). Regional Committee members also may serve on disciplinary panels in accordance with FINRA rules.

In this election, Regional Committees for the South and West regions each have six full-term vacancies to fill, and the Midwest, North and New York regions each have four full-term vacancies to fill. Eligible candidates will be included on the appropriate ballot if they submit a candidate profile form to FINRA’s Corporate Secretary by October 3, 2024.

On or about October 18, 2024, FINRA will send the official Election Notice by electronic mail and FINRA’s election agent will follow up with voting instructions with names of all qualified individuals to the executive representatives1 of FINRA member firms eligible to vote in the elections. Voting will conclude in November 2024. The newly elected Regional Committee members will take office in January 2025 for three-year terms.

Questions concerning this Election Notice may be directed to:

  • Jennifer Piorko Mitchell, Vice President – Corporate Governance and Deputy Corporate Secretary, at (202) 728-8949 or via email; or
  • Kayte Toczylowski, Vice President, Member Relations and Education, at (215) 209-7087 or via email.

Background

Committee members must have the experience, ability and commitment to fulfill responsibilities including:

  • understanding the issues facing the securities industry and how to apply relevant knowledge and expertise to these issues to develop solutions;
  • educating firms in their districts about FINRA’s responsibilities;
  • regularly attending and participating in a collegial manner in Regional Committee meetings; and
  • remaining objective and unbiased, regardless of the interests of their firm, in the performance of Regional Committee matters.

Committee members also must adhere to the following prohibitions and restrictions:

  • sensitivity to conflicts, such as those that can arise from firm-related work and service on industry committees, as an expert witness, hearing panelist or arbitrator, and refraining from participation in a particular matter when a conflict exists;
  • refraining from using membership on the Regional Committee for commercial purposes, for qualifying as an expert or suggesting special access to FINRA; and
  • keeping sensitive, non-public or proprietary information confidential.

In addition, committee members derive benefits from serving on Regional Committees, including fee waivers for registration to FINRA conferences and opportunities to network with other firms in their district and region. Regional Committee service also provides opportunities to interact with senior FINRA staff.

A list of the current Regional Committee members is available online.

Composition of Regional Committees

Each Regional Committee has six elected members from each district within that committee’s region, with the exception of the New York Region (its 12 members are all based in one district, District 10). Regional Committees representing three districts (i.e., the South and West regions) have 18 members, and Regional Committees representing one or two districts (i.e., New York, Midwest and North regions) have 12 members.

The five Regional Committees and the districts each represents are:

  • Midwest Region Committee – Comprises Districts 4 and 8, representing Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin;
  • New York Region Committee – Comprises District 10, representing New York (Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the Bronx, Brooklyn, New York County, Queens and Staten Island);
  • North Region Committee – Comprises Districts 9 and 11, representing Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York (except for the counties of Nassau and Suffolk, and the five boroughs of New York City), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia;
  • South Region Committee – Comprises Districts 5, 6 and 7, representing Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Panama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and the Virgin Islands; and
  • West Region Committee – Comprises Districts 1, 2 and 3, representing Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and the former U.S. Trust Territories.

Terms & Vacancies

The full term for a Regional Committee member is three years. There is no limit on the number of terms that Regional Committee members may serve, except that Regional Committee members may serve no more than two full terms consecutively. Terms of Regional Committee members will terminate if they do not remain eligible for the seat for which they are elected.

In this election, Regional Committees for the South and West regions each have six full-term vacancies, and the Midwest, North and New York regions each have four full-term vacancies to fill as detailed below.

Midwest Region Committee:

  • District 4 – Two Representative Vacancies
  • District 8 – Two Representative Vacancies

New York Region Committee:

  • District 10 – Four Representative Vacancies

North Region Committee:

  • District 9 – Two Representative Vacancies
  • District 11 – Two Representative Vacancies

South Region Committee:

  • District 5 – Two Representative Vacancies
  • District 6 – Two Representative Vacancies
  • District 7 – Two Representative Vacancies

West Region Committee:

  • District 1 – Two Representative Vacancies
  • District 2 – Two Representative Vacancies
  • District 3 – Two Representative Vacancies

The individuals elected to fill the above vacancies will be elected to three-year terms, starting January 1, 2025, and expiring on December 31, 2027.

Nomination Process and Eligibility

Individuals interested in seeking a district representative seat on a Regional Committee must complete a candidate profile form and submit it to FINRA’s Corporate Secretary via email by October 3, 2024.

Any individual who submits a profile form and meets the qualifications set forth in Article VIII, Section 8.2 of the FINRA Regulation By-Laws will be included on the relevant ballot. Specifically, Regional Committee members must:

  1. be associated with a FINRA member headquartered in the district they are seeking to represent on the Regional Committee; and
  2. be registered in the capacity of a branch manager or principal or denoted as a corporate officer of the FINRA member.2

FINRA encourages current and former committee members to assist FINRA by soliciting candidates to serve on these committees.

Voting Eligibility

Firms are eligible to vote for candidates running for the seats representing the district where the firm is headquartered.3 Firm eligibility will be verified on the day that ballots are mailed.

Endnotes

1 Pursuant to FINRA Rule 4517, firms must update their contact information promptly, but in any event not later than 30 days following any change in such information, as well as review and, if necessary, update the information within 17 business days after the end of each calendar year. To update an executive representative’s name, mailing address and email address, firms may access the FINRA Contact System, via FINRA Gateway. Additionally, firms must comply with any FINRA request for such information promptly, but in any event not later than 15 days following the request, or such longer period that may be agreed to by FINRA staff. See FINRA Rule 4517.

2 A firm’s managing director meets the qualification requirement.

3 A FINRA member is headquartered where it designates its main address on the member's Form BD.