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Guidance
- Regulatory Notice
- Exemptive Fingerprinting Relief
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Upcoming Deadlines and Effective Dates
- FINRA Requests for Comment
- SEC Request for Comment
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Education and Compliance Programs
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Small firms: Vote for a small firm governor on FINRA’s Board. FINRA posted Election Notice 07/20/22 (Notice of Annual Meeting of FINRA Firms and Election Proxy) announcing the 2022 Annual Meeting of FINRA members to elect one individual to the FINRA Board of Governors. The available seat up for election is one of three designated for representatives of small firms. The Notice provides details on the election process and the two candidates for the small firm governor seat:
- Stephen A. Kohn, President, DMK Advisors Group, Inc.
- Linde Murphy, President & Chief Compliance Officer, M.E. Allison & Co., Inc.
Small firms that are members of FINRA as of the close of business on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, are eligible to vote in this election and may do so via the Internet, telephone or U.S. mail, or by attending the Annual Meeting in person. Watch for emails from FINRA’s Election Agent (from the email address “[email protected]”) with specific voting instructions. If you need additional assistance with voting, contact FINRA’s Office of the Corporate Secretary via email or call (202) 728-8949.
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Gerri Walsh, President, FINRA Investor Education Foundation and Senior Vice President, FINRA Investor Education, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs about various risks facing investors and savers in today’s securities and crypto markets. Read her remarks.
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In the latest blog post, FINRA Chief Economist Jonathan Sokobin discusses how researchers use FINRA’s Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine’s (TRACE) data to understand fixed income markets in the U.S. Since 2017, FINRA has offered a dedicated dataset specifically for academic research with anonymized reporters and delayed publication. The dataset permits researchers to conduct analysis that otherwise would be impossible and study a broader range of questions to better understand how fixed income markets work. This research, in turn, provides more robust information to policymakers, including FINRA and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Read the blog post.
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Guidance
Regulatory Notice
FINRA has received an increasing number of reports regarding registered representatives and associated persons forging or falsifying customer signatures, and in some cases signatures of colleagues or supervisors, through third-party digital signature platforms. To help firms address the risks these signature forgeries and falsifications present, FINRA published Regulatory Notice 22-18 to share relevant regulatory obligations; forgery and falsification scenarios firms have reported to FINRA; and methods firms have used to identify those scenarios.
Temporary Exemptive Fingerprint Relief
The temporary exemptive relief for submitting fingerprint information—which was established by the SEC and FINRA in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020—will terminate effective Sept. 6, 2022. Firms relying on the exemptive relief must submit fingerprint information for associated individuals according to the time frames detailed on FINRA’s website.
Firms can utilize the “Active Individuals Roster” template in FINRA Gateway Reports to identify individuals with outstanding fingerprint requirements. Entitled firm users can learn more about filtering the report for this purpose in Classic CRD and FINRA Gateway system messages.
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Upcoming Deadlines and Effective Dates
FINRA Requests for Comment
FINRA is soliciting comment on a proposal to establish a new trade reporting requirement for transactions in over-the-counter options on securities with terms that are identical or substantially similar to listed options. FINRA is proposing to require firms to report this information to FINRA on a daily basis (end-of-day) for regulatory purposes only. Comments are due September 20, 2022. See Regulatory Notice 22-14.
FINRA is soliciting comment on a proposal to amend Rule 6730 to reduce the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) trade reporting timeframe for transactions in all TRACE-Eligible Securities that currently are subject to a 15-minute reporting timeframe. Members would be required to submit a report to TRACE as soon as practicable (as is currently the case), but no later than one minute from the time of execution, for transactions in corporate bonds, agency debt securities, asset-backed securities and agency pass-through mortgage-backed securities traded to-be-announced for good delivery. Comments are due October 3, 2022. See Regulatory Notice 22-17 for more information.
SEC Request for Comment
The SEC requests comment on FINRA’s proposal to adopt new Supplementary Material .19 (Residential Supervisory Location) under FINRA Rule 3110 (Supervision) that would align FINRA’s definition of an office of supervisory jurisdiction (OSJ) and the classification of a location that supervises activities at non-branch locations with the existing residential exclusions set forth in the branch office definition to treat a private residence at which an associated person engages in specified supervisory activities as a non-branch location, subject to safeguards and limitations. In accordance with Rule 3110(c), as a non-branch location, a Residential Supervisory Location would become subject to inspections on a regular periodic schedule, which is presumed to be at least every three years, rather than an annual inspection requirement required of OSJs and other supervisory branch offices. Comments are due August 23, 2022. See the Federal Register notice.
Treasury Department Notice and Request for Information
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued a Request for Information seeking comment on additional post-trade transparency for data regarding secondary market transactions in U.S. Treasury Securities, including the potential benefits and risks of several potential ways to build on existing public transparency. See the Notice Seeking Public Comment. Comments are due 60 days after the date of publication of the Notice in the Federal Register.
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Education and Compliance Programs
Firm compliance personnel who are new to registration and licensing—or would like to become more familiar with navigating related systems—are invited to join FINRA virtually for an upcoming training. Each training session runs noon to 5 p.m. ET on two consecutive half days. Upcoming sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 5 and Thursday, Oct. 6; and Wednesday, Nov. 9 and Thursday, Nov. 10. See the Virtual Training Schedule & How to Register page for more information.
The FINRA Advertising Regulation Conference is back! Join us in Washington, DC, on October 20-21, 2022, for a conference designed specifically for new and experienced communications compliance professionals. Participate in forward-looking discussions on current practices, policies, priorities and rulemaking. Plus, use this opportunity to network with industry peers and meet one-on-one with Advertising Regulation Department staff during office hours.
Register today for the 2022 Small Firm Conference. Join us in Santa Monica, CA, or participate virtually on November 9-10, for the opportunity to discuss small firm topics, share insights and effective practices, and hear detailed exchanges on industry and regulatory updates.
Week II of the 2022 FINRA Institute at Georgetown CRCP® Program is almost sold out. Reserve your spot now and join us in Washington, D.C., on November 13-18. View the detailed schedule for a look at what sessions are being held and the participating faculty.
Thinking ahead and want to reserve your spot for next year? Registration for 2023 Week I is now open.
Register for all of FINRA’s upcoming events:
- FINRA Registration Systems Foundation Training
- Wednesday, October 5 and Thursday, October 6 | noon to 5 p.m. ET | Virtual
- Wednesday, November 9 and Thursday, November 10 | noon to 5 p.m. ET | Virtual
- FINRA Institute at Georgetown Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional® Program
- Week II | November 13 – 18, 2022 | Washington, DC
- Advertising Regulation Conference | October 20 – 21, 2022 | Washington, DC and Virtual
- Small Firm Conference | November 9 – 10, 2022 | Santa Monica, CA and Virtual
- 2023 Annual Conference | May 16-18, 2023 | Washington, DC
- FINRA Institute at Georgetown Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional® Program
- Week I | July 16 – 21, 2023 | Washington, DC
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