March 2024 Board Update

March 15, 2024

The FINRA Board of Governors held its first meeting of the year last week, and I am pleased to share some updates from our discussions.

The Board approved one rule proposal: modifications to proposed amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure previously approved by the Board to accelerate case processing for elderly or seriously ill parties. These modifications were in response to feedback we received on a Request for Comment on the previous proposal, which would lower the age at which parties would qualify for accelerated processing. The proposal will require SEC approval before going into effect.

The FINRA Board received a briefing on examinations and investigations, including an update on FINRA’s scheduling tool for examinations. The Board also continued discussions around FINRA’s long-term financial planning, and—as is customary for the first meeting of the year—the Board approved the allocation of prior-year fine monies to various capital initiatives in accordance with FINRA’s Financial Guiding Principles. In support of our heightened transparency regarding FINRA’s finances, we will release details about the allocations in an upcoming Report on the Use of 2023 Fine Monies.

In addition, the FINRA Board continued its engagement with key stakeholders by hosting Haoxiang Zhu, Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets, who discussed with the Board current issues related to broker-dealers, the securities industry and capital markets, including market transparency.

Our next meeting is scheduled for May 8-9. More information regarding the Board's operations, including the membership and responsibilities of its committees, is available on FINRA’s website, as are additional details about the rulemaking process.

Sincerely,

Robert W. Cook
President and CEO