Here is a very interesting post from Michael Gross about what happens at the end of a FINRA exam. One point that he omitted, but worth mentioning, is that in the event FINRA does issue a close-out letter stating that its exam is done and no disciplinary action will be taken, that letter cannot be
arbitration
FINRA’s Board Acts To Fix The Problem…That FINRA Created
By UB Greensfelder on
So, as you undoubtedly recall, in its typical reactive approach to regulation, FINRA has expressed concern – after having concerns expressed to it by others (none of whom are actually from the securities industry, of course) – about (1) the high number of registered reps working in the industry with spotty disciplinary records, and (2)…
Body-Slammed By FINRA, Twice In A Week
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in Arbitration, Disciplinary Process, Enforcement, FINRA, PIABA, Rule 9555, Statutory Disqualification
I sometimes (well, perhaps frequently) use this blog as a vehicle to complain about certain things that FINRA does, or about certain of its rules, that I feel are just unfair, plain and simple. To show you that I am not simply making this up, I experienced two such events this past week, which I…
FINRA’s Board Continues To Bend In the Wind Of Criticisim
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in Arbitration, Board of Governors, Enforcement, FINRA, PIABA, Registered Representative, Rogue rep, Rule 2010, Sanctions
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…
Puerto Rico Customer Arbitrations: The Untold Story About Why So Many Settle
By Chris Seps on
Here is a piece from Chris Seps, who has a bit of a reputation around here for being angry. Judge for yourself. But, for what it’s worth, I do want to say that I have had the pleasure of being involved in several cases in which the subject of this post, Dr. Craig McCann, appeared…
Pick Your Poison: Given What A Jury Can Do, Is Arbitration Really That Bad?
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in Arbitration, FINRA
Some of my clients simply cannot enough bad things about the arbitration process. It is expensive. It is unfair. There’s no industry panelist anymore. Claimants can get away with anything. Panels are sometimes comprised of people who care more about how many sessions they can get paid for than the merits of the case. Or…
Altering Documents In A FINRA Arbitration Can Have Consequences That Go Well Beyond The Arbitration Itself…At Least For Respondents
By UB Greensfelder on
The FINRA investigative process and the arbitration process exist side-by-side; at times, the misconduct that is alleged by a claimant in a Statement of Claim may simultaneously be the subject of an examination by Member Regulation, or even an Enforcement Complaint. Ordinarily, Enforcement doesn’t pay much attention to what happens in a parallel arbitration, except…
A Miscellany Of FINRA Issues A Little Too Big To Call Nitpicking
By UB Greensfelder on
For some reason, a bunch of noteworthy events all happened around the same time this week, so please bear with me as I vent a little about them. Individually, they are irritating; in the aggregate, they are borderline alarming.
First, the FINRA Wells process. I have blogged about this before, and how, in a…
PIABA Cries Wolf, Again, To Ensure That Its Lawyers Get Paid
By UB Greensfelder on
Once again, I found myself gritting my teeth in frustration after reading yet another PIABA report complaining about some perceived inequity in the FINRA arbitration process that cuts against customers. This week, PIABA released its study demonstrating that sometimes when claimants prevail in arbitrations against broker-dealers, the BD that lost is unable to pay the…
FINRA’s Arbitration Task Force Issues Its Final Report: Law Shmaw
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in Arbitration, FINRA
Back when I was a Director of NASD’s Atlanta District Office, I spent a lot of my time apologizing to the approximately 500 member firms my office regulated about the quality of the arbitration process. Almost uniformly, broker-dealers held the view that it was not just flawed but broken, that it was unfair (tilted in…