On October 16, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published its 2019 Report on Examination Findings and Observations (Report). Unlike previous years, the Report delineates between examination “findings” and examination “observations.” “Findings” describe violations of a rule or regulation, whereas “observations” refer to suggestions regarding how firms can improve controls and mitigate risk. The annual Report summarizes various findings and observations from recent examinations of its member firms on a range of topics, including the following:
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On August 13, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued Regulatory Notice 18-25 to remind Alternative Trading Systems (ATS) to evaluate their supervisory systems to ensure compliance with their supervision obligations, including, without limitation, with respect to business continuity, recordkeeping, Regulation ATS, Regulation NMS, Regulation SHO and the SEC’s Market Access Rule, to the extent

On January 8, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released its annual Regulatory and Examination Priority Letter detailing various issues that will be the subject of particular regulatory focus and scrutiny this year. Many of the areas noted are carry-overs from previous years, including the protection of senior investors and other retail customers, new product suitability reviews, and enhanced scrutiny of high-risk brokers. However, the letter also reflects various new issues that have caught FINRA’s attention and will require increased attention by FINRA member firms.
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On December 6, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released a summary of findings from its examinations of broker-dealers (Summary Report). As part of FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity, FINRA conducts regular examinations of its broker-dealer members, with each broker-dealer being examined at least once every four years. FINRA prepares a report—which is only available to the examined FINRA member—based upon the examination findings, and the members are required to address issues identified in this report.
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