New Report Card to Support Compliance with MSRB Rule

Features

• New Report Card to Support Compliance with MSRB Rule 
  FINRA introduced a report card Monday to provide member firms with feedback regarding their compliance with Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) Rule G-32(b)(vi)(C)(1)(a). The new report card, which is available in the FINRA Gateway compliance portal and Report Center, will identify instances where firms failed to initiate Form G-32 within submission timeframes. A specific request of members, it is one of several new report cards we are launching in the coming months to provide more useful information for firm compliance efforts. More details are available here, and you may contact the Report Center Administrator with any inquiries. 
   
• FINRA to Enhance Order Routing Report Submissions  
  On Sept. 1, FINRA will begin notifying member firms when their Rule 606(a) reports have been accepted or rejected. The notifications will be sent via email or our compliance portal and will include a reason when a submission has been rejected. Details on managing these notifications are available here. 
  
  Beginning Oct. 1, member firms will be able to authorize third-party vendors to submit these reports on their behalf. Vendors acting on behalf of members will be able to use our compliance portal to upload the reports manually or via machine-to-machine interface. FINRA will hold the two testing sessions for vendor “on-behalf-of” submissions on Sept. 10, 11-12:30 p.m. ET and Sept. 17, 2-3:30 p.m. ET. You may sign up for one of the sessions here, or please contact our support team for assistance. 
   
• Cyber Alert for Firms Using Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center 
  FINRA issued a Cybersecurity Alert on a critical vulnerability in Cisco’s Secure Firewall Management Center software that could allow a remote attacker to run malicious code on firm systems with full administrative privileges, potentially leading to system takeover, data theft, or disruption of services. The alert shares Cisco’s recommendations to mitigate the threat, for which there are currently no workarounds. 
   
• New Guidance on Fidelity Bonds 
  FINRA clarified that members whose sole business is equivalent to that of a Designated Market Maker and who do not conduct business with the public are exempt from the requirements related to fidelity bonds under Rule 4360. The new guidance is available here. 
   
• Investor Bullet on Adding a Trusted Contact to Your Account 
  The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, FINRA, and the North American Securities Administrators Association issued a joint Investor Bulletin to urge investors to consider adding a trusted contact person to their brokerage account. The bulletin, which firms are welcome to share with their customers, states that doing so does not give that person any authority to act on the account holder’s behalf, execute transaction, or engage in activity in the account. 
   
• ICYMI: New Crypto and Blockchain Program 
  FINRA will be launching the Crypto and Blockchain Education Program in the coming months. These offerings are part of our ongoing commitment to educate the industry, empower firm compliance, and ensure our programs and activities are in line with the opportunities and risks in today's capital markets. The first courses, which are foundational level e-learning, will be available to preview in our training platform in September, and member firms will be able to assign these courses to their other employees in October.

• Fidelity Bond Guidance: See above feature for details.

• Testing Overview Session 1 | Sept. 10 | Virtual Event
• Testing Overview Session 2 | Sept. 17 | Virtual Event

FBI Cyber & Financial Crime Threat Briefing: Midwest Region | Sept. 10 | Virtual Event

Registration Systems Foundation | Sept. 16 | Rockville, MD | In-Person Event  

Disclosure Reporting Boot Camp | Sept. 17-18 | Rockville, MD | In-Person Event

Cyber Tabletop Exercise | Oct. 8 | Dallas, TX | In-Person Event  

Senior Investor Financial Exploitation Case Study Workshop | Oct. 8 | Dallas, TX | In-Person Event  

Small Firm Conference | Oct. 9-10 | Dallas, TX | Hybrid Event

Registration Systems Foundation | Oct. 21 | Chicago, IL | In-Person Event

Disclosure Reporting Boot Camps | Oct. 22-23 | Chicago, IL | In-Person Event

Cyber Tabletop Exercise | Oct. 27 | Santa Monica, CA | In-Person Event  

Elder Cyber Fraud Case Study Workshop | Oct. 27 | Santa Monica, CA | In-Person Event  

Cyber Crimes Conference | Oct. 28 | Santa Monica, CA | Hybrid Event

Registration Systems Foundation | Oct. 28-29 | Virtual Event

Comment Process – On-demand webinar on how to provide comments on FINRA Forward proposals, as well as the impact of comment letters and how they are used.

Involvement and Election Process – How to engage with FINRA to help carry out our mission of protecting investors and safeguarding market integrity. Members can contribute their unique perspectives and skillsets with rotating terms on FINRA committees and other opportunities. Submit an indication of interest to be considered to join a FINRA advisory committee or speak at a FINRA event by clicking here.

Membership Application Program (MAP) Tools – Guidance and other resources to help current members prepare for their continuing membership application (CMA) and new applicants prepare for a new member application (NMA).

FINRA Unscripted – Monthly podcast on a range of topics important to FINRA members and other stakeholders.