The SEC recently brought fraud charges against Sterlington, Louisiana and its former mayor and separately against Rochester, New York and its former executives and Rochester’s municipal advisors and principals/owners for misleading investors related to their respective bond offerings. At a high level, the SEC alleged (collectively between the two matters):…
BrokerCheck is the database through which FINRA publishes licensing, registration, and disciplinary history of brokerage industry firms and their personnel. BrokerCheck does not currently specify whether a particular firm is a “Restricted Firm”–one FINRA considers to “pose far higher risks to the public than firms of similar size” based on…
Cybersecurity and technology governance remain a top area of focus for the SEC and FINRA, as the regulators continue to concentrate on improving the overall cybersecurity posture and resiliency of the financial sector. FINRA covered this in its 2022 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program. The SEC is…
It came as no surprise that FINRA’s 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report highlighted communications with the public as a continued area of focus. The primary theme across this focus area relates to the sufficiency of internal processes, procedures, and controls. As FINRA has done with other areas, the…
The SEC recently published its 2022 Examination Priorities Letter on the heels of FINRA issuing its 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report. One of many areas of common focus is financial management, and more specifically, net capital requirements and safekeeping of funds and securities. The SEC, for example, reminded…
FINRA recently published Regulatory Notice 22-10 reminding firms of the scope of Rule 3110 (Supervision) and the potential liability of Chief Compliance Officers for failure to reasonably discharge supervisory responsibilities delegated to them. FINRA recognizes that compliance and supervision are distinct roles that carry different obligations. FINRA has said that…
Our recent client alert distills FINRA’s findings on Reg. BI and Form CRS so you don’t need to read it all yourself.
Our recent client alert discusses recent FINRA rule changes to provide broker-dealers with additional resources to prevent elder financial fraud.