On January 22, 2019, FINRA released its “2019 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter” which identifies topics that FINRA will focus on in the coming year. As always, suitability remains one of FINRA’s top priorities in the coming year. Some of the specific areas on which FINRA may focus in 2019 include: (1) deficient quantitative […]
On December 7, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) issued a comprehensive report (“Report on FINRA Examination Findings”) which “focuses on selected observations from recent examinations that FINRA considers worth highlighting because of their potential significance, frequency, and impact on investors and the markets.” Among the issues discussed in this report were significant concerns […]
FINRA announced that it has fined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) $5.5 million and required the firm to pay at least $6 million in compensation to retail customers for displaying inaccurate research ratings for numerous equity securities during a nearly five-year period, and for related supervisory violations. An equity research rating reflects a firm’s opinion […]
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. $2 million for failing to maintain reasonably designed supervisory systems and procedures for reviewing email communications. In addition, Raymond James has agreed to conduct a risk-based retrospective review to detect potential violations evidenced in past emails. FINRA found […]
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated $1.4 million for failing to establish a reasonable supervisory system and procedures to identify and evaluate extended settlement transactions, and for related rule violations. Extended settlement transactions have a longer time between trade and settlement than routine securities […]