Alexandria, VA – To facilitate access by municipal securities investors, state and local governments and others interested in the municipal market to free, objective educational resources, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today unveiled an online education center on its website at msrb.org. The new MSRB Education Center consolidates videos, fact sheets and a significant library … Continue reading MSRB Creates Online Education Center to House Digital Resources about the Municipal Market →

Regulatory Notice 14-27 SEC Approves Amendments to Codes of Arbitration Procedure to Require Redaction of Personal Confidential Information from Documents Filed With FINRA Dispute Resolution Effective Date: July 28, 2014 Executive Summary The SEC approved amendments to the Customer and Industry Codes of Arbitration Procedure to provide that any document that a party files with … Continue reading SEC Approves Amendments to Codes of Arbitration Procedure to Require Redaction of Personal Confidential Information from Documents Filed With FINRA Dispute Resolution →

Conference Center New York, NY On Tuesday, July 29, SIFMA will host a Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) Bidder Summit to provide a forum for the six CAT bidders to share key concepts of their respective CAT proposals with the industry. The following bidders are confirmed to participate at this summit: SunGard EPAM Systems FINRA AxiomSL … Continue reading SIFMA Consolidated Audit Trail Bidder Summit →

MSRB Education and Outreach Seminar Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. CT Conrad Hotel, 521 North Rush Street Chicago, IL 60611 The MSRB will host a public education and outreach seminar for municipal market professionals to discuss municipal market structure issues and development of new regulations for professionals that provide financial advice … Continue reading MSRB – Education and Outreach Seminar in Chicago, IL →

Regulatory Notice 14-31 SEC Approves FINRA Rule 2081 Regarding Prohibited Conditions Relating to Expungement of Customer Dispute Information Effective Date: July 30, 2014 Executive Summary The SEC has approved FINRA Rule 2081 (Prohibited Conditions Relating to Expungement of Customer Dispute Information) to prohibit member firms and associated persons from conditioning or seeking to condition settlement … Continue reading SEC Approves FINRA Rule 2081 Regarding Prohibited Conditions Relating to Expungement of Customer Dispute Information →

SIFMA Announces Cybersecurity Resources for Small Firms: Cyber attacks, a real threat to our economic and national security, do not discriminate based on firm size: cybersecurity firm Symantec reports that in 2012, 31% of all cyber attacks targeted businesses with fewer than 250 employees, up from 18% in 2011. Every market participant bears the responsibility … Continue reading SIFMA Announces Cybersecurity Resources for Small Firms →

6SIFMA and Other Associations Submit Comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Structure of MCDC: SIFMA suggested adjusting MCDC’s 5‐10 year look‐back period to determine whether or not issuers have made materially inaccurate statements in offering documents regarding prior continuing disclosure compliance, as well as extending the end date of MCDC from September 9, … Continue reading SIFMA and Other Associations Submit Comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Structure of MCDC →

Election Notice 8/1/14 FINRA Announces Nomination Process to Fill Upcoming Vacancies on the National Adjudicatory Council Petitions for Candidacy Due: September 15, 2014 Executive Summary The purpose of this Election Notice is to announce the nomination process to fill two vacancies on the National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) to be filled by one Large Firm NAC … Continue reading FINRA Announces Nomination Process to Fill Upcoming Vacancies on the National Adjudicatory Council →

SR-FINRA-2014-028 Proposed Rule Change Relating to Revisions to the Definitions of Non-Public Arbitrator and Public Arbitrator Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA") is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") a proposed rule change to amend the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes ("Customer Code") and the Code of Arbitration Procedure … Continue reading FINRA Proposed Rule Change Relating to Revisions to the Definitions of Non-Public Arbitrator and Public Arbitrator →

The SEC requests comment on a proposal to adopt additional rules addressing quotation requirements for unlisted equity securities and to delete the OTC Bulletin Board rule series and discontinue operation of the OTC Bulletin Board Service. The comment period expires August 5, 2014. See the Federal Register notice.

SR-FINRA-2014-026 Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Codes of Arbitration Procedure to Increase Arbitrator Honoraria by Increasing Arbitration Filing Fees, Member Surcharges and Process Fees and Hearing Session Fees Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA") is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") a proposed rule change to amend the Code of … Continue reading FINRA Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Codes of Arbitration Procedures →

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (MSRB) request for approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of proposed MSRB Rule G-44, on supervision and compliance obligations of municipal advisors, and related amendments to MSRB Rules G-8 and G-9 has been published in the Federal Register. Read the notice of publication in the Federal Register. Read … Continue reading MSRB Request for Approval from SEC of proposed Rule G-44 has been published in the Federal Register →

C & L Regional Seminar:  August 6, 2014 -  Charles Schwab Convention Center - San Francisco We cordially invite you to attend the SIFMA Compliance & Legal Society San Francisco Regional Seminar to be held at Charles Schwab on Wednesday, August 6th, 2014. This one day seminar will feature presentations by leading securities regulators and … Continue reading SIFMA Compliance and Legal Society San Francisco Regional Seminar →

Alexandria, VA – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today announced new officers and Board of Directors members who will begin their terms on October 1, 2014. The Board makes policy decisions, authorizes rulemaking and oversees the MSRB’s operations. Kym Arnone, Managing Director at Barclays, will serve as Chair of the MSRB for Fiscal Year … Continue reading MSRB Announces New Officers and Board Membersfor Fiscal 2015 →

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (MSRB) request for approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of a proposal to amend MSRB Rule G-3 has been published in the Federal Register. Proposed changes to Rule G–3 would require brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers to conduct annual municipal securities training for registered representatives who regularly … Continue reading MSRB Filing Rule Change to Rule G-3 on Professional Qualification Requirements →

Regional Compliance Events Midwest Des Moines, IA: Compliance Meeting: August 26 North Stamford, CT: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 7 Woodbridge, NJ: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14 South Dallas, TX: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 11 Boca Raton, FL: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14

In April, FINRA initiated a retrospective rule review by issuing two Regulatory Notices (14-14 and 14-15) requesting comment on the effectiveness and efficiency of FINRA's communications with the public rules, and the gifts, gratuities and non-cash compensation rules. In addition to the feedback we received during the comment process and through subsequent interviews with subject … Continue reading FINRA – Retrospective Rule Review Surveys →

The second-quarter data tables for the TRACE Fact Book are now available. The tables include aggregated information for securitized products as well as corporate and agency debt securities, including trades reported, the top 50 issues by trades and by par value, the average daily par value traded, customer buy vs. customer sell ratios and more.

FINRA and the Wharton School offer the Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional (CRCP) Program—an executive education experience that covers the theory and practical application of securities laws and regulation through intensive instruction, discussion and case studies. The program is comprised of two weeklong residential courses at the Wharton campus in Philadelphia. Week I – August … Continue reading FINRA and the Wharton School offer CRCP Program →

Regional Compliance Events Midwest Des Moines, IA: Compliance Meeting: August 26 North Stamford, CT: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 7 Woodbridge, NJ: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14 South Dallas, TX: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 11 Boca Raton, FL: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14

Regulatory Notice 14-32 FINRA Amends FINRA Rule 9120 and the Definition of “Hearing Officer” Implementation Date: August 12, 2014 Executive Summary FINRA has amended the definition of “Hearing Officer” to include a former FINRA employee who previously acted as a Hearing Officer and who is a licensed attorney. Based on the amended definition, the Chief Hearing … Continue reading FINRA Amends FINRA Rule 9120 and the Definition of “Hearing Officer” →

The SEC requests comment on an amendment to a proposal relating to per share estimated valuations for unlisted DPP and REIT securities. The comment period expires August 12, 2014. See the Federal Register notice.

Regional Compliance Events Midwest Des Moines, IA: Compliance Meeting: August 26 North Stamford, CT: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 7 Woodbridge, NJ: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14 South Dallas, TX: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 11 Boca Raton, FL: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14

Regional Compliance Events Midwest Des Moines, IA: Compliance Meeting: August 26 North Stamford, CT: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 7 Woodbridge, NJ: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14 South Dallas, TX: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 11 Boca Raton, FL: Half-Day Compliance Boot Camp: August 14

August 14, 2014 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET The MSRB will host an educational webinar on its recently released request for comment on a revised draft rule to establish core standards of conduct for municipal advisors. Register for the webinar. Read the request for comment

As a reminder, ballots for FINRA's election to fill one small firm seat and one large firm seat on the FINRA Board of Governors must be submitted prior to the Annual Meeting scheduled for August 14, 2014. Eligible firms are urged to vote. To ensure that FINRA receives sufficient proxies to satisfy the annual meeting … Continue reading FINRA BOARD OF GOVERNORS ELECTION →

The firm should complete the review of the outside brokerage accounts of all associated persons for the prior month. finra.complinet.com/en/display/display_main.html

SIFMA's Asset Managers Forum will host the next Buy-Side Academy on Monday, August 18, focusing on the operational impact of moving to a T+2 settlement cycle in Europe, which will be effective October 6, 2014. Industry professionals representing all aspects of the trade life-cycle - including asset management firms, broker-dealers, custodians, securities depositories, industry utilities and … Continue reading SIFMA Asset Managers Forum →

Regulatory Notice 14-28 SEC Approves FINRA Rule Concerning Self-Trades Effective Date: August 25, 2014 Executive Summary The SEC approved new supplementary material to FINRA Rule 5210 (Publication of Transactions and Quotations) to address transactions in a security resulting from the unintentional interaction of orders originating from the same firm that involve no change in the … Continue reading SEC Approves FINRA Rule Concerning Self-Trades →

Regional Compliance Events Midwest Des Moines, IA: Compliance Meeting: August 26

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (MSRB) request for approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of a proposal to amend MSRB Rule G-3 has been published in the Federal Register. Proposed changes to Rule G–3 would require brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers to conduct annual municipal securities training for registered representatives who regularly … Continue reading MSRB Deadline for Comments to Rule Change Request for Rule G-3 →

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (MSRB) request for approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of proposed MSRB Rule G-44, on supervision and compliance obligations of municipal advisors, and related amendments to MSRB Rules G-8 and G-9 has been published in the Federal Register. Read the notice of publication in the Federal Register. Read … Continue reading MSRB Request for Approval from SEC of proposed Rule G-44 has been published in the Federal Register →

FINRA Rule 3270 prohibits any registered person from being an employee, independent contractor, sole proprietor, officer, director or partner of another person, or being compensated, or having the reasonable expectation of compensation, from another person as a result of any business activity outside the scope of the relationship with the member firm unless he or … Continue reading Outside Business Activity Review (NASD Rule 3050) →