On Wednesday, the FINRA Board met and discussed two topics that I recently blogged about: recidivist brokers and unpaid arbitration awards. In predictable fashion, FINRA withered in the face of criticism that its existing rules and policies are somehow not tough enough on its member firms, and embarked on a proposed series of steps
UB Greensfelder
Sticks And Stones May Break Your Bones, But Words Will Get You Barred
By UB Greensfelder on
I have been meaning to write something about this recent NAC decision for a while now, but I am still not really sure what to make of it. I suppose it stands for two propositions. First, there is almost nothing that a registered rep can do without FINRA sticking its nose in, regardless of whether…
The Nuts And Bolts Of FINRA’s New Financial Exploitation Rule
By UB Greensfelder on
A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about FINRA’s new rule concerning senior investors. My take was largely that the rule made sense, but only to the extent that it provides protections for BDs that encounter the need to share otherwise confidential information about a customer due to concerns about the customer’s health…
As Berthel Fisher Just Learned, Those Who Don’t Know FINRA’s History Of Disciplinary Actions Are Doomed To Repeat It
By UB Greensfelder on
I have often used these posts to lament the fact that FINRA consistently acts as an enforcement driven group of crazed examiners, hell-bent on writing firms up for technical violations, at best, uncaring about the dramatic ramifications of their seemingly ceaseless attack on well-meaning broker-dealers and their owners. While I still harbor those feelings, occasionally…
When It Comes To Testifying To The SEC, Providing Alternative Facts Can Be A Bad Idea
By UB Greensfelder on
At the beginning of most FINRA OTRs, the examiner reads from a script of sorts, outlining some of the basic rules governing the proceeding. One of the things the script calls for is an express acknowledgement by the witness that he or she is testifying pursuant to Rule 8210, and that, as a result, a…
FINRA Tweaks The Sanction Guidelines Again And – Guess What? – It Wasn’t To Make Them Gentler
By UB Greensfelder on
Remember a few weeks ago? Remember I blogged about Robert Cook, FINRA’s new CEO? And how he was saying all the right things about FINRA perhaps being juuuuust a bit too Enforcement oriented? I expressed hope – sincere but wary hope – that given his remarks, it was possible that the pendulum might actually start…
Some Amusing OHO Decisions
By UB Greensfelder on
As a former member of FINRA Enforcement’s Litigation Department and a current practitioner in FINRA regulatory matters, I have read my fair share of decisions from the Office of Hearing Officers (OHO). I recently read the Southeast Investments/Black decision, which was issued in March. There is some good stuff in there – from an entertainment…
When FINRA Can’t Discipline The Firm, Individuals Pay The Price
By UB Greensfelder on
There has been a lot of discussion over the past few years, including in this blog, about the growing – and troubling – trend for Chief Compliance Officers to be named as respondents in disciplinary actions. While regulators regularly deny that they truly have it out for CCOs, as is often the case, their…
SEC Gives Advisors A Break On Custody Rule
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in custody rule, SEC
A common complaint that I hear from broker-dealers and investment advisors is that it is nearly impossible anymore to obtain informal guidance from their regulators. Where it was once possible, even normal, to make a call and get casual advice how to comply with a particularly tricky rule, nowadays, regulators routinely decline to respond to…
FINRA’s New Rules On Seniors: Let’s Protect Them From Their Own Bad Decisions?
By UB Greensfelder on
We have written before about senior investors, but I saw a couple of things in the last couple of weeks that suggests this subject needs to be revisited.
First, back in February, the SEC got around to passing FINRA’s proposed rules to protect senior investors, including both new Rule 2165 and amendments to existing Rule…