The regulatory wheels of justice may move slowly, but it appears that the long arm of the law of the self-regulatory body, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), got their man. Rules are rules, and Kyung Soo Kim, an ex-employee of Bank of America-owned broker-dealer Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., recently met his…
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Market volatility generated an exceptional amount of processing volume for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2018 – 66.7 billion electronic records per day, up 87.4% over the ADV in 2017. FINRA has already reported an unprecedented amount of market activity through the first six months of 2018, averaging a record 57.9 billion electronic records…
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FINRA, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity, has announced that it has fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC $10 million for anti-money laundering (AML) program and supervisory failures that spanned a period of more than five years. Susan Schroeder, FINRA Executive Vice President, Department of Enforcement, commented on the news: As…
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FINRA has informed the public that it has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. for improperly selling shares in initial public offerings (IPOs) to industry insiders. Merrill Lynch will pay a $5.5 million fine, and disgorge $490,530 it earned as revenue from the sales. IPOs included Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM),…
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UBS (NYSE:UBS) has agreed to pay $15 million total fine to FINRA, SEC and FinCEN. The financial services company failed to implement anti-money laundering programs. Susan Schroeder, FINRA’s Executive Vice President, Department of Enforcement, commented on the news: AML systems must be reasonably designed to monitor transactions for potentially suspicious activity. When firms are part of…
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FINRA has just announced that it filed a complaint against Timothy Tilton Ayre of Agawam, Massachusetts, charging him with securities fraud and the unlawful distribution of an unregistered cryptocurrency security called HempCoin. This case represents FINRA’s first disciplinary action involving cryptocurrencies. In the complaint, FINRA alleges that, from January 2013 through October 2016, Ayre attempted…
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FINRA has released a white paper outlining recent regulatory technology (RegTech) developments within the securities industry and potential opportunities and implications these technologies may have for broker-dealers. The report follows an in-depth review conducted by FINRA on the emergence of RegTech tools within the securities industry and summarizes the study’s key findings. Notably, FINRA highlights…
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FINRA has issued a Special Notice seeking comment on how it can support financial technology (fintech) innovation consistent with its mission of investor protection and market integrity. The announcement builds on an initiative FINRA launched last year to improve communication with the securities industry around fintech. In addition, FINRA requests comment on certain fintech areas,…
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has informed the public that it has processed an unprecedented amount of market activity through the first six months of 2018, averaging a record 57.9 billion electronic records per day during the period — a 62% increase over the average daily volume in 2017. FINRA’s pioneering cloud strategy has…
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FINRA has announced that it is launching an enhanced disclosure review process for public financial records of individuals seeking registration with a brokerage firm. Beginning on July 9, FINRA will perform a public records review within 15 calendar days after a firm applies to register an individual with FINRA. The review will enhance the quality…
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