Thanks to Heidi for today’s post. – Alan
Today, the SEC put out its 2021 Exam Priorities, available here. It is about 40 pages long and covers a lot of topics. While I encourage everyone to read through the document, here are the primary focus items for 2021:
Overarching Themes / Focal Points:
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Thanks to Blaine for tackling FINRA’s annual list of things it is paying particular attention to in 2021. – Alan
The world has changed a lot in the last 12 months, but those in the securities industry can always rely on their trusty regulator, FINRA, to put out its annual priorities list to provide…
In what has become an annual, but hardly exciting – I mean, it’s not like anxiously awaiting the day that pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training – tradition, with the turning of the calendar to the new year, FINRA has once again released a letter announcing what it deems to be its priorities for…
I don’t know how many times I’ve written about FINRA’s efforts over the years to address “rogue brokers,” or what it refers to nowadays more politically correctly as “high-risk brokers.” It doesn’t really matter what blog post you read, or when I wrote it, as they all tell essentially the same story: FINRA is just…
I would imagine that the point of FINRA releasing its list of exam priorities each year is to help firms who are actually going to be examined, by providing a glimpse into FINRA’s playbook so they can address, proactively, the issues they know FINRA will focus on. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, right? …
As promised, FINRA has released its first Report outlining common findings from its examinations, in an effort to help member firms comply with the rules and, presumably, avoid problems that other firms encountered. A noble idea, especially for an entity not exactly known (at least lately) for its proactive measures to assist BDs with their…
I read an article this week bemoaning the fact that “rogue brokers” – a term that is commonly used but steadfastly undefined – apparently remain rampant in the securities industry. Anyone that has read FINRA’s 2017 Exam Priorities Letter knows that this is one of the issues on which FINRA intends to focus its regulatory…
In the blog I posted yesterday, I discussed a late Xmas present that the 10th Circuit gave everyone who is subject to the SEC’s jurisdiction. Today, let’s talk about FINRA’s New Year’s gift to its member firms: the annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter, which was released this week. As is typically the…
By now you have probably read FINRA’s recent “Targeted Exam Letter” entitled “Establishing, Communicating and Implementing Cultural Values.” In case you haven’t, it is clear that FINRA is following up on the promise it made in January in the 2016 Regulatory & Examination Priorities Letter to “formalize [its] assessment of firm culture while…
Tis the season for announcing the year’s top examination priorities. This week, the SEC released its own examination priorities. Top priorities include:
Thematically, the SEC’s priorities adhere to its larger objectives: protecting retail investors (especially retirement savings); assessing market-wide risks; and utilizing data…
