Overview – FINRA’s Funding Portal Rules (FP Rules) apply to firms that register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as funding portals pursuant to the SEC’s Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) and that become FINRA FP members. Prospective FPs should review, in addition to the rules under the SEC’s Reg CF, Regulatory Notice 16-06 (SEC Approval of FINRA Funding Portal Rules
(a) Permissible Lending Arrangements; ConditionsNo person associated with a member in any registered capacity may borrow money from or lend money to any customer of such person unless:(1) the member has written procedures allowing the borrowing and lending of money between such registered persons and customers of the member; (2) the borrowing or lending arrangement meets one of the
A self-directed individual retirement account (IRA) is an IRA held by a custodian that allows investment in a broader set of assets than most IRA custodians permit. Custodians for self-directed IRAs may allow investors to invest retirement funds in “alternative assets” that have unique risks, including a lack of information and liquidity—and the risk of fraud.
The staff granted an exemption from FINRA Rule 5130 with respect to purchases of “new issues” by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund.
The Liquidity Risk Management topic of the 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the Report) informs member firms’ compliance programs by providing annual insights from FINRA’s ongoing regulatory operations, including (1) regulatory obligations and related considerations, (2) findings and effective practices, and (3) additional resources.
The Cybersecurity section of the 2017 Report on Exam Findings informs member firms’ compliance programs by describing recent findings and observations from FINRA’s examinations, and, in certain cases, also providing a summary of effective practices.
SUGGESTED ROUTING:*
Legal & ComplianceRegistration*These are suggested departments only. Others may be appropriate for your firm.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved changes to Form BD, the Uniform Application for Broker/Dealer Registration. The amendments, developed in consultation with the NASD, North American Securities Administrators
On March 16, 2023, FINRA published responses to frequently asked questions concerning the MMTLP corporate action and trading halt (March 16, 2023, MMTLP FAQ). In that corporate action, the issuer decided that MMTLP shares would be cancelled and investors in those shares would receive a distribution of shares of Next Bridge Hydrocarbons, Inc. (Next Bridge). FINRA has continued to receive questions regarding the circumstances surrounding these events. In particular, some have questioned the level of short selling in MMTLP and suggested that there was a substantial amount of “counterfeit shares.” Although it is not clear what is meant by the term “counterfeit shares,” it has been used in social media when discussing “naked” short selling in a security and failures-to-deliver (FTDs). Some investors have expressed concern that, even though their brokerage account statements include shares of Next Bridge in their account, these shares may not have actually been delivered to their broker-dealer.
SEC Approves FINRA Membership Waive-In Process for Certain NYSE Member Organizations
GUIDANCE
SUGGESTED ROUTING
KEY TOPICS
Legal & Compliance
Market Making
Operations
Registered Representatives
Senior Management
Systems
Trading
Foreign Securities
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)
Trade Reporting
Trade Reporting of Foreign Securities
Executive Summary
NASD is publishing this Notice to provide members with guidance on trade reporting issues involving transactions in
