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Guidance
- Regulatory Notice
- New FAQ
- UPC Advisories
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Disciplinary Actions
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Upcoming Deadlines and Effective Dates
- FINRA Requests for Comment
- New Fingerprint Process
- Renewal Program
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Education and Compliance Programs |
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One day left to vote in committee elections. Committee members play an important role by helping inform FINRA’s regulatory programs. See Election Notice 10/19/21 to learn how eligible firms can cast a ballot in elections for FINRA Regional Committees. See the second Election Notice 10/19/21 for details on how eligible firms can cast a ballot to fill one North and one West Region vacancy on the Small Firm Advisory Committee. Voting instructions were included in the ballots sent to eligible firms. Ballots are due by November 18, 2021.
Tune in to the latest episode of the FINRA Unscripted podcast. On this episode, we are taking you behind the scenes of this year's Small Firm Conference with an abridged look at the fireside chat with FINRA CEO Robert Cook and Executive Vice President Greg Ruppert. Listen to the podcast.
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Register today for the next Small Firm Conference Call on Monday, December 6, at 4:30 p.m. ET. FINRA CEO Robert Cook and Vice President of Member Relations and Education Kayte Toczylowski will be joined by Vice President of Testing and Continuing Education (CE) David Scrams to discuss the CE Transformation and important year-end reminders.
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Guidance
FINRA Amends Rules 1210 and 1240 to Enhance the Continuing Education Program for Securities Industry Professionals
FINRA has adopted important changes to its continuing education (CE) and registration rules to train registered persons more effectively while accommodating registered persons, particularly women and underrepresented minorities, whose personal circumstances take them away from the industry for a time. The changes to Rules 1210 and 1240: (1) provide eligible individuals who terminate any of their representative or principal registration categories the option of maintaining their qualification for any terminated registration categories by completing annual CE through a new program, the Maintaining Qualifications Program (MQP); (2) require registered persons to complete CE Regulatory Element annually for each representative or principal registration category that they hold; and (3) expressly allow firms to consider other required training toward satisfying an individual’s annual CE Firm Element and extend the Firm Element requirement to all registered persons. See Regulatory Notice 21-41 for the effective dates and additional information on the CE Transformation.
New FAQ
FINRA has published new frequently asked questions relating to the amended continuing education rules announced in Regulatory Notice 21-41.
UPC Advisories
The following UPC Advisories were published in the last week:
- UPC #115-21: Brighthouse Financial Inc (OTC Symbol: BHFPV)
- UPC #116-21: Hudson Pacific Properties Inc (HPPCP)
- UPC #117-21: Enterprise Financial Services Corp (EFSSL)
- UPC #118-21: Rivernorth/Doubleline Strategic Opportunity Fd Inc (OTC Symbol: OPPBV)
- UPC #119-21: Public Storage (PBSTP)
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Disciplinary Actions
FINRA publishes disciplinary actions to remind registered representatives and firms of specific conduct that violates FINRA rules and may result in disciplinary action. FINRA posted the following disciplinary item on the website this week:
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Upcoming Deadlines and Effective Dates
FINRA Requests for Comment
FINRA requests comment in Regulatory Notice 21-35 on a proposal to require members to publish quarterly order routing disclosure reports for held orders in OTC Equity Securities. The proposed new quarterly reports would be similar to those required for NMS stocks under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Rule 606(a) of Regulation NMS, with certain modifications reflecting the different structure of the OTC market. FINRA also requests input on possible steps to further facilitate investor access and understanding of current order routing disclosures for NMS securities. Comments are requested by December 6, 2021.
NEW: FINRA is soliciting comment in Regulatory Notice 21-40 on a proposal to amend FINRA Uniform Practice Code Rule 11880 (Settlement of Syndicate Accounts). The proposed amendments would reduce the maximum time for the final settlement of syndicate accounts in a public offering of corporate debt securities from 90 days to 30 days following the syndicate settlement date. Comments are requested by January 18, 2022.
New Fingerprint Process
Beginning 7 a.m. ET on December 6, broker-dealers and funding portals must send fingerprints to FINRA’s designated fingerprint provider, Sterling, for processing by the Department of Justice (FBI). Sterling will not accept or process fingerprints from broker-dealers and funding portals before that date. In preparation for the transition, FINRA will cease processing fingerprints for broker-dealers and funding portals from 11 p.m. ET on November 29, 2021, through 6:59 a.m. ET on December 6, 2021. For more information about key dates and required tasks, please visit the FINRA Fingerprint Process Change webpage.
Broker-Dealer, Investment Adviser Firm, Agent and Investment Adviser Representative, and Branch Renewals for 2022
The 2022 Renewal Program began on November 8, 2021, when FINRA made Preliminary Statements available to all firms in E-Bill. As described in Regulatory Notice 21-39, the payment deadline is December 13, 2021.
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Education and Compliance Programs
Register today for the virtual Retail Member Forum on December 9. Firm Grouping Member Forums are free one-day events designed to provide financial professionals associated with FINRA member firms the opportunity to engage in key discussions with FINRA staff and connect with industry leaders and peers. The forums also include thoughtful discussions around the future landscape of the financial services industry and provide opportunities to meet one-on-one with FINRA Risk Monitoring Analysts, Directors, and Single Points of Accountability to discuss firm-specific questions.
On-demand sessions from the Diversified and Carrying & Clearing and the Capital Markets & Investment Banking Member Forums are available for FINRA member firms and CRCP® graduates. Register to re-watch or view sessions you may have missed.
View the latest on-demand sessions from the Access and Impact Conference. Also, in case you missed it, the Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS session from the 2021 Small Firm Conference is now available.
Register for all of FINRA’s upcoming events:
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