Guidance

February 2020

Trading & Financial Compliance Examinations (“TFCE”) of the Market Regulation Department (“Market Regulation”) at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) is conducting a review of [FIRM] concerning the Firm’s decision not to charge commissions for customer transactions, the impact that not charging commissions has or will have on the Firm’s order routing practices and decisions, and other aspects of the Firm’s business. 

Is there a rule that addresses prohibited conditions relating to expungement of customer dispute information?

Yes, FINRA Rule 2081 provides that no member or associated person shall condition or seek to condition settlement of a dispute with a customer on, or to otherwise compensate the customer for, the customer’s agreement to consent to, or not to oppose, the member’s or associated person’s request to expunge customer dispute information from the CRD system. 

Does FINRA Rule 2081 apply only to settlements?

It’s easy for any company to get caught up in the status quo, too busy focusing on the challenges of today to anticipate the challenges of tomorrow. The Createathon, FINRA’s take on a hackathon, looks to prevent that by allowing employees across the organization a chance to step away from their day jobs to think differently.

Corporate culture is defined as the way people act. But what helps people understand how to act, how to behave and how to make decisions? That’s the organization’s values.

FINRA is issuing this Notice to remind member firms of their supervisory obligations under FINRA Rules 3110 (Supervision) and 3120 (Supervisory Control System) if they hold or transact in customer accounts owned by municipal entities or obligated persons (municipal clients), as defined in Section 15B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), and participate in investment-related activities with municipal clients, such as recommending or selling non-municipal securities products to such municipal clients.

Summary

FINRA is issuing this Notice to restate and supplement prior guidance regarding the circumstances under which a firm or individual may influence the outcome of an investigation by demonstrating extraordinary cooperation. This Notice incorporates FINRA’s prior guidance and provides clarification and additional information about how FINRA assesses whether a potential respondent’s cooperation is “extraordinary” and distinct from the level of cooperation expected of all member firms and their associated persons.