FINRA Unscripted is the voice of the nation’s largest non-government securities regulator. We bring together FINRA leaders to discuss existing and emerging regulatory topics that impact the broker-dealer industry. We share best practices for compliance officers, insights into the operations of a 3,500 person self-regulated organization and educational tools and information for investors. Every investor in America relies on one thing: fair financial markets. That is what FINRA works every day to ensure.
In late May, certain amendments to FINRA's margin rule, Rule 4210, went into effect to address a significant source of potential systemic risk and risk to FINRA member firms. The amendments introduced specific margin requirements related to covered agency transactions.
On this episode, we talk to David Aman, senior advisor, and James Barry, director of Credit Regulation, both with FINRA's Office of Financial and Operational Risk Policy, and with Michael MacPherson, a senior advisor with Member Supervision’s Risk Monitoring team, to learn more about the purpose of the rule, which firms might be impacted by the change and what those firms need to think about to ensure compliance with the amended rule.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Contact: [email protected]
FAQs Regarding Covered Agency Transaction Margin under FINRA Rule 4210
Reg Notice 23-14: Amendments to Covered Agency Transaction Requirements Under FINRA Rule 4210
Protecting investors from harm is a top FINRA priority. And when it comes to specific individuals who may pose a risk, FINRA's High Risk Representative (HRR) Program is on the case.
On this episode, Brooks Brown, Senior Director, and Eric Hebert and John Salerno, Investigative Directors, from the HRR unit join us to explain how they identify and monitor individuals who pose an elevated risk of misconduct to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the market.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Episode 114: Bringing Cases Against Individual Brokers
Episode 150: A Cybersecurity Update with FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence Team (CII)
Key Topic: Protecting Investors from Misconduct
Virtual Conference Panel: Supervision of High-Risk Activities
Every day, FINRA's Insider Trading Detection Program uses sophisticated technology and analytics to monitor 100% of trading in stocks, options and bonds for potentially suspicious activity around material news events, resulting in hundreds of referrals to the SEC and law enforcement every year.
On this episode, we hear from Sam Draddy, a Senior Vice President of the Market Abuse Unit within FINRA's Market Regulation and Transparency Services, and Karen Braine, Vice President of the Insider Trading Detection Program, about how they connect trading data, information from public sources and from companies and FINRA firms to pull together actionable intelligence.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Episode 23: Insider Trading: Finding the Needle in the Haystack
Blog: FINRA Plays a Vital Role in Exposing Insider Trading
SEC Litigation Release: Sean R. Steward et al.
SEC Litigation Release: Andreas Bechtolsheim
Senior investor protection has long been a priority for FINRA, and the Vulnerable Adults and Seniors Team (VAST) is at the forefront of FINRA's efforts in this space.
On this episode, we hear from Brooke Hickman, Director of the Vulnerable Adults and Seniors Investigative Team, Mike Paskin, a manager with VAST Investigations, and Liz Yoka, a manager of the VAST Intake team, to hear how the groups work with individual investors, firms, states and other regulators to prevent and detect financial exploitation of senior and other vulnerable investors.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
2024 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report
Episode 72: Anti-Money Laundering and Elder Exploitation
Episode 128: The 2023 Senior Investor Protection Conference
Episode 105: The Essential Senior Investor Protection Tools: FINRA Rules 2165 and 4512
FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors – 844-57-HELPS (844-574-3577)
FINRA Key Topic Page: Senior Investors
FAQ Regarding FINRA’s Rules Relating to Financial Exploitation of Seniors
On May 28th, U.S. markets are moving to a one-day settlement cycle, familiarly known as T+1. This move, which returns the settlement time frame back to a point at which it last stood a century ago, will have wide ranging impacts for firms, investors and regulators.
On this episode, we hear from James Barry, Director of Credit Regulation with FINRA's Office of Financial and Operational Risk Policy, Bobby Gomez, a Senior Director with Market Regulation and Transparency Services' Strategic Initiatives team, Mike MacPherson, a Senior Advisor in Member Supervision's Risk Monitoring group, and John Nachmann, Associate General Counsel with the Office of General Counsel's Regulatory Practice, to discuss what all market participants need to be thinking about and testing ahead of the transition.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Episode 127: Understanding the Unique Risks of Every Firm
DTCC: The Key to T+1 Success Blog
Reg Notice 23-15: Regulation T and SEA Rule 15c3-3 Extension
Technical Notice: T+1 Settlement Testing
FINRA Investor Insight: Understanding Settlement Cycles
These days, it's not a matter of if, but when, when it comes to cybersecurity incidents, which is why it's essential for all firms to ensure they're prepared for the inevitable.
On this episode, we're catching up with Bryan Smith, the new senior vice president of FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence (CII) team and Brita Bayatmakou, vice president of the Cyber and Analytics Unit within CII, for an update on CII, the cyber threat landscape and what firms should be thinking about and doing in response to the latest trends.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
FINRA's FBI Cyber Threat Briefings (Next Briefing: April 22)
Episode 112: Introducing FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence Team
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: Industry Alerts
Reg Notice 21-29: Obligations Related to Outsourcing to Third-Party Vendors
U.S. financial markets today are not what they were ten years ago, five years ago, or even just a couple of years ago. Over the years, FINRA's Market Regulation and Transparency Services (MRTS) team successfully grew and evolved to meet the changing demands of the markets they oversaw. But recently, the group took time to ask, how would we build this team if we were starting from scratch? And the answer to that question involved redesigning the group structure around specific functions, rather than around specific rules or products.
On this episode, we hear from Feral Talib, Executive Vice President of Surveillance and Market Intelligence, Jackie Perrell, a Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff for MRTS, and Steve Price, Senior Vice President of Market Investigations to learn how the MRTS team has realigned itself, allowing it to be more nimble in addressing and anticipating risks, to better leverage its data and more.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report
Feral Talib Named Executive Vice President and Head of Surveillance & Market Intelligence
Episode 60: Greg Ruppert and the National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Programs
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM) are taking the world by storm, presenting numerous opportunities to create business efficiencies. While the new technologies offer many potential benefits to firms, regulators and investors, they also introduce unique risks.
On this episode, we hear from Brad Ahrens, senior vice president of Advanced Analytics, Andrew McElduff, vice president with Member Supervision's Risk Monitoring team and Haime Workie, vice president and head of FINRA's Office of Financial Innovation, who are closely looking at these technologies and following developments in this space to learn how FINRA is looking at and thinking about generative AI when it comes to its own business and what it's looking at and seeing when it comes to firm use of these tools.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Securities Industry
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Investment Fraud
Reg Notice 21-19: Obligations Related to Outsourcing to Third-Party Vendors
2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report
2023 Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence for Congress
The FINRA Investor Education Foundation has released a new report, Investors of Color in the United States, examining the behavior and attitudes of investors of color based on data from the FINRA Foundation's National Financial Capability Study coupled with a series of focus groups conducted with young Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Asian American/Pacific Islander investors.
The report shows interesting trends related to the pace at which these investors are entering the market, their views on risk, where they're receiving information and more. On this episode, we hear more from Ritta McLaughlin, Director of Investor Education, Community Outreach, and Principal Research Analyst Olivia Valdes to learn more.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Investors of Color in the United States (2024)
Gen Z and Investing: Social Media, Crypto, FOMO, and Family (2023)
Investors in the United States: The Changing Landscape (2022)
New Accounts and the People Who Opened Them (2021)
FINRA Enforcement works tirelessly on the front lines of investor protection, whether looking into cases of fraud or ways that bad actors try to manipulate the markets. This tremendous undertaking demands steadfast leadership.
On this episode, we meet Bill St. Louis, the former head of FINRA’s National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program and FINRA's new Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement, to learn more about the man at the helm and what's on the horizon for Enforcement in the new year.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report
FINRA Names Bill St. Louis as New Head of Enforcement
FINRA Fines BofA Securities $24 Million for Treasuries Spoofing
FINRA recently wrapped up a targeted review of the practices of certain member firms when it comes to communicating with retail investors regarding crypto products and services. On this episode, Ira Gluck, Senior Director, Advertising Regulation at FINRA, joins us to share the results of that crypto asset communications sweep that began in November 2022.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Advertising Regulation Department
Crypto Asset Communications Targeted Exam Letter
FINRA Blog: An Inside Look into FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work
Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub
Episode 137: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team
Episode 138: FINRA’s Blockchain Lab
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