Guidance
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Upcoming Deadlines and Effective Dates
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Education and Compliance Programs
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2024 Renewal Program Reminder: The payment deadline for Preliminary Statements is Monday, Dec. 11. Firms should ensure payment is received and posted by that date. Firms can deposit funds directly into a firm’s Renewal Account or rely on FINRA to transfer the money from the firm’s Flex-Funding Account starting Dec. 11.
Firms must pay the entire amount assessed on the Preliminary Statement. Failure to remit full payment of their Preliminary Statement to FINRA by Dec. 11, 2023, may cause FINRA-registered firms to be subject to a late fee.
For complete program information, please refer to the Annual Renewal Program page.
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FINRA announced that it has fined BofA Securities, Inc. $24 million for engaging in more than 700 instances of spoofing through two former traders in U.S. Treasury secondary markets and related supervisory failures spanning more than six years.
| | Guidance FINRA has ordered four firms to pay $2.6 million for violations relating to fully paid securities lending, including over $1 million in restitution to retail customers enrolled in fully paid securities lending programs and fines of $1.6 million for the firms’ related supervisory and advertising violations.
FINRA has published Regulatory Notice 23-20 to discuss the guidance and other resources available to assist members with their compliance efforts in connection with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC)Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI).
This week, the FINRA Board of Governors is holding its final meeting of the year. The Board will review and consider several items during the meeting including a proposal regarding the centralization of SEC Rule 605 execution quality reports, an update on FINRA’s National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program (NCFC) and FINRA’s cybersecurity activities and review the results of SFAC, NAC and FINRA Regional Committee elections, which will be announced via an Election Notice later this month.
Cybersecurity Advisory on Effective Practices for Responding to a Cyber Incident – As a result of the continued proliferation of cybercrime, the Cyber and Analytics Unit (CAU) within FINRA’s Member Supervision program is issuing this advisory to highlight effective practices and considerations for member firms when responding to cyber incidents, including the benefits of voluntarily reporting information related to the incident to various entities.
| | Upcoming Deadlines and Effective Dates Effective May 28, 2024, in accordance with the industry-led shortened settlement cycle from two business days (T+2) to one business day (T+1), FINRA will implement its changes for equity trade reporting.
Web EFT Retires November 2024
This is a reminder to firms using the legacy Web EFT service that effective Nov. 15, 2024, all associated XML file upload and download functionality will be completely retired. Current Web EFT subscribers wishing to continue making automated data transfers with FINRA must transition to using the new FINRA API platform. Key milestones and frequently asked questions are on the platform’s Web EFT Sunset page.
SEC Request for Comment
The SEC requests comment on FINRA’s proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 2210 (Communications with the Public) to permit, when specified conditions are met, the use of projections of performance or targeted returns in institutional communications and specified communications to qualified purchasers. Comments are due December 15, 2023. See the Federal Register notice.
| | Education and Compliance Programs Register for the next Small Firm Conference Call on Tuesday, December 12, at 4:30 p.m. ET. FINRA Vice President, Member Relations and Education Kayte Toczylowski, will be joined by FINRA senior leaders, Stephanie Dumont, Executive Vice President, Market Regulation and Transparency Services, Bill St. Louis, Executive Vice President, Enforcement, and Greg Ruppert, Executive Vice President, Member Supervision, to discuss regulatory updates, initiatives, and areas of focus for 2024. Registration is open to all member firms.
Register for all of FINRA’s upcoming events: |
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