The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has filed a proposed amendment to the standardized membership application forms, Form NMA (New Membership Application Form) and Form CMA (Continuing Membership Application Form). The proposed amendments are non-substantive and technical changes that are intended to conform with the amended Membership Application Program rules that create further incentives for the timely payment of arbitration awards. As such, FINRA is proposing to (i) amend the description of standards for admission that FINRA must consider in determining whether to approve an NMA or CMA; (ii) amend the description of the rebuttable presumption to deny an application; and (iii) incorporate the arbitration-related questions and documentation options that are in Form CMA into Form NMA. A copy of the full filing with proposed amended forms can be found here. Comments have been requested and are due 21 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. The proposal is FINRA file number SR-FINRA-2020-028.
