Proposed Rule Change to Amend FINRA's Customer and Industry Codes of Arbitration Procedure to Revise the Public Arbitrator Definition

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) a proposed rule change to amend the Customer and Industry Codes of Arbitration Procedure (“Codes”) to revise the definition of “public arbitrator” to exclude persons associated with a mutual fund or hedge fund from serving as public arbitrators and to require individuals to wait for two years after ending certain affiliations before they may be permitted to serve as public arbitrators.  FINRA believes that the proposed amendments to the public arbitrator definition would improve investors’ perception about the fairness and neutrality of FINRA’s public arbitrator roster.