There have been tons of cases where firms got in trouble – in AML trouble, which is one the worst kinds of trouble – for failing to be sufficiently on top of third-party wires, i.e., where a customer wires money not to himself but to someone else. In a change of pace, last week, the
disciplinary action
For FINRA, Unlike The SEC, Blaming The BD Always Seems To Be The Answer
By Alan Wolper on
FINRA Enforcement has often been accused (again, admittedly, by me, and not too infrequently) of going after the “low-hanging fruit,” that is, taking the easy case when it presents itself. Putting aside the question whether this observation is accurate or not – for what it’s worth, I think the answer is that it is often,…
You Should Understand The Difference Between Violating A Firm Policy And Violating A FINRA Rule . . . Even If FINRA Doesn’t
By Alan Wolper on
I am writing this while flying home from my first business trip in over 15 months. I have to tell you, it is more than a bit of a strange feeling to be out and among people again. While my face is sore from wearing this N95 mask nearly non-stop for three days, my hands…
If You Supervise Yourself — Which You Cannot Do — Make Sure You Do It Right
By Alan Wolper on
I have always operated with the understanding that, per FINRA rules, one cannot supervise him- or herself. Hardly an outrageous proposition. Today, however, that fundamental, bedrock understanding was so shaken, it has left me wondering whether anything is what it seems (especially when coupled with Loyola’s win this weekend over Illinois, which, really, can only…
SEC Not Only Reverses FINRA Disciplinary Action, But Provides Blueprint For Respondents To Use In Their Defense Of Similar Claims
By Alan Wolper on
My friend and former colleague, Brian Rubin, publishes annually his analysis of FINRA Enforcement cases, spotting trends in terms of the number and types of matters it brings, the sanctions meted out, etc. It is an excellent tool, and eagerly anticipated by lots of us who practice in this industry. One of the hard parts…
The (Possible) Benefit Of Self-Reporting And Internal Discipline
By Alan Wolper on
Historically, one of the surest ways to get yourself permanently barred from the industry is to forge a customer’s signature on something. According to the pertinent Sanction Guideline, at a minimum, a forgery, that is, a true forgery – a signature that is neither authorized nor subsequently ratified by the customer – should result in…
LPL AWC Proves, Once Again, That Big Firms Can Buy Their Way Out Of Trouble That Would Kill Small Firms
By Alan Wolper on
LPL may be the biggest BD in the country, with 21,500 reps operating out of almost 13,000 branch offices. Heaven knows how much money it brings in every year, but, goodness, it must be a lot. And good thing, too, given how much the firm keeps paying to FINRA in fines for its serial, repeated,…
Another Fine Churning Mess
By Alan Wolper on
I apologize for taking so long between posts, but, to be fair, there’s been a lot going on in the past week or so that has captured my attention! I wish everyone a happy and SAFE new year! – Alan
While undoubtedly FINRA will be issuing its annual “examination priorities” letter any day now, that…
FINRA Zoom Hearing Goes BOOM!
By Alan Wolper on
Attentive readers will recall that a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in a preface to great post from Chris about expungement becoming an endangered creature due to changes in FINRA rule that I was about to embark on a two-week FINRA Enforcement hearing, all done by Zoom, by consent. I promised to provide some…
FINRA AWC Provides New Defense To Allegation Of “Willfulness”
By Alan Wolper on
I dare you. In fact, I double-dog dare you to figure out how or why FINRA decides to charge willfulness in some cases but not in others. Bottom line is that it is nearly impossible (except if you’re a big firm, in which case you can rest easy that FINRA will manage to skip the…