Section 3(a)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Securities Exchange Act”) defines a “dealer” as “any person engaged in the business of buying and selling securities […] for such person’s own account...more
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) supervisory control rules require each securities broker-dealer that is a member of FINRA to categorize every location from which the business of the broker-dealer is...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have each published their annual examination priorities for 2021, signaling areas of scrutiny that broker-dealers should...more
4/9/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On March 3, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (“Division” or “EXAMS”) published its annual Examination Priorities Report, which identified eight primary areas of focus for Fiscal Year 2021. While many of these...more
4/1/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FinTech ,
Fraud ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Libor ,
Market Infrastructure ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) last week published its observations from the first five months operating the SEC’s national examination program during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is the latest...more
8/19/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 20, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a “Report on Selected Cybersecurity Practices” (the “Report”) as part of its ongoing efforts to assist broker-dealer firms in developing...more
In early January, both the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) and FINRA announced their examination priorities for 2017. As in previous years, both the SEC and FINRA share many examination...more
House Financial Services Committee Votes To Repeal And Replace Dodd-Frank -
On September 13th, the House Financial Services Committee approved the Financial CHOICE Act of 2016 to repeal and replace key parts of the 2010...more
10/5/2016
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Real Estate Market ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cyber Threats ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
FSOC ,
OCC ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers
On June 23, 2016, the SEC instituted a settled enforcement action against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. and Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. (collectively, “Merrill”), in which Merrill agreed to pay $415...more