The Credit Risk Management topic of the 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the Report) informs member firms’ compliance programs by providing annual insights from FINRA’s ongoing regulatory operations, including (1) regulatory obligations and related considerations, (2) findings and effective practices, and (3) additional resources.
Regulatory Obligations and Related Considerations
Regulatory Obligations
Effective liquidity controls are critical elements in a broker-dealer’s risk management framework. Exchange Act Rule 17a-3(a)(23) requires firms that meet the thresholds specified under the rule to make and keep current records documenting the credit, market, and liquidity risk management controls established and
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The Report Center provides firms with secure access to data and reports that help firms detect potential compliance problems early. FINRA Report Center provides report cards that cover a variety of topics and rulesets. Reports on the Report Center do not relieve a firm from compliance obligations imposed under FINRA’s By-Laws and Rules, and will not
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FINRA’s examination program plays a central role in supporting FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity. A main component of this program is FINRA’s examinations of broker-dealers (“firms” or “members”) that are conducted on a regular cycle basis: each firm is examined at least once every four years, and many are examined even 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. Firms are required to address issues identified by FINRA, and many do so by proactively taking corrective action before FINRA concludes its exam. Through this sort of rapid remediation, firms strengthen their compliance and supervisory programs, which ultimately helps better protect investors and the integrity of the markets.
The 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the Report) provides member firms with insight into findings from the recent oversight activities of FINRA’s Member Supervision, Market Regulation and Enforcement programs (collectively, regulatory operations programs).
FINRA’s examination, surveillance and risk monitoring programs play a central role in supporting FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity.
In both 2017 and 2018, FINRA issued Reports on Examination Findings in response to firms’ requests that we make publicly available a summary of key findings from FINRA’s examinations of member firms. Firms use this information, as well as effective practices observed by FINRA at certain firms, to anticipate potential areas of concern and improve their procedures and controls. (We subsequently refer to the two prior years’ documents as the “2017 Report” and the “2018 Report.”)
Regulatory Obligations and Related Considerations
Regulatory Obligations
Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1 (Net Capital Rule) requires that firms must at all times have and maintain net capital at specific levels to protect customers and creditors from monetary losses that can occur when firms fail. Exchange Act Rule 17a-11 requires firms to notify FINRA in the event their net capital falls below the “
The 2022 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the Report) provides firms with information that may help inform their compliance programs. For each topical area covered, the Report identifies the relevant rule(s), highlights key considerations for member firms’ compliance programs, summarizes noteworthy findings from recent examinations, outlines effective practices that FINRA observed during its oversight, and provides additional resources that may be helpful to member firms in reviewing their supervisory procedures and controls and fulfilling their compliance obligations.
