A new series of initiatives has been announced by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to improve its effectiveness in pursuing its mission of protecting investors, maintaining market integrity, and facilitating vibrant capital markets.
The initiatives, known as FINRA Forward, were detailed by FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook in a recent blog post. Cook said they are part of FINRA’s efforts to build a culture of continuous improvement in its regulatory policies and programs.
The three initiatives were shared recently with member firms and are as follows:
-Modernizing FINRA Rules. FINRA is conducting a broad review of its rules to modernize requirements, facilitate innovation and eliminate unnecessary burdens.
-Empowering Member Firm Compliance. FINRA is working to enhance how it supports member firm compliance to better protect investors and safeguard markets.
-Combating Cybersecurity and Fraud Risks. FINRA is expanding its cybersecurity and fraud prevention activities to support member firms’ risk management capabilities and resilience against emerging threats and to better protect member firms and their investors from harm.
In discussing the initiatives, Cook said, “Among other things, FINRA Forward will focus on leveraging the expertise and input of our member firms through our unique model of self-regulation; capitalizing and building on recent enhancements to our regulatory programs and technology capabilities; supporting further innovation in financial services; and ensuring our regulatory policies and activities are tailored to the opportunities and risks of the current market, business, and technology environment.”
He added, “”The goal of these initiatives is to enable our member firms to better serve investors and facilitate strong and fair capital markets in which everyone can participate with confidence.”
Cook noted that the development of FINRA Forward was informed by dialogue with member firms whose feedback will continue to be welcomed, along with input from investors, trade associations, and other interested parties.
The attorneys at Lewitas Hyman include former senior attorneys at the SEC whose legal experience and industry knowledge make them uniquely qualified to provide counsel on securities regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters. Our attorneys fully understand the regulatory scrutiny financial professionals and their firms face from the various regulators that oversee the financial services industry. If your firm is facing an investigation from a regulatory agency, please contact Lewitas Hyman at (888) 655-6002 or through our online contact form.
