The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) published its 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “Report”), which builds on the structure and content of FINRA’s prior reports for 2021-2024. This year, the Report adds new topics relating to the third-party risk landscape, registered index-linked annuities and extended hours trading. The Report also includes new content
FINRA Will Not Set an Effective Date for Amendments to TRACE Rules Establishing One-Minute Reporting Requirement; FINRA to Prepare New Filing for Public Comment
On February 5, 2025, Robert Cook, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory Industry, Inc. (FINRA), announced that FINRA will not set an effective date for its recent amendments (the “Amendments”) to Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) reporting rules to reduce the current 15-minute timeframe to one minute for reporting transactions…
SEC Grants Temporary Exemption from Rule 13f-2 and Form SHO Compliance
On February 7, 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission provided a temporary exemption from compliance with Rule 13f-2 under the Securities Exchange Act and the associated Form SHO reporting. Originally, the first Form SHO disclosures were due by February 14, 2025, but the exemption now pushes out the deadline to February 17, 2026 for…
ICI Urges SEC to Delay Short-Sell Reporting Rules Amid Compliance Uncertainty
The Investment Company Institute (ICI) has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a comment letter to delay enforcement of its new short sale disclosure rules (the “Short Sale Final Rules”) until additional compliance guidance is provided. The Short Sale Final Rules, finalized in October 2023, require certain institutional investment managers to report…
FINRA Provides Guidance on Timing Requirements under Certain Broker-Dealer Financial, Operational and Reporting Rules in the Event of an Unexpected Close of Securities Markets (January 9, 2025 National Day of Mourning in Honor of President Carter)
On December 31, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) issued Regulatory Notice 24-18 (“RN 24-18”) to provide updated guidance to members regarding Rules 15c3-1, 15c3-3 and 17a-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“SEA”), Rule 204 under Regulation SHO, FINRA Rules 4210, 4230(b), 4521 and 4524, and Regulation T of the Federal…
FINRA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rule Changes
On December 20, 2024, FINRA requested public comment on its proposed rule changes to Rules 5110 (Underwriting Terms and Arrangements), 5121 (Public Offerings of Securities With Conflicts of Interest) and 5123 (Private Placements of Securities). These proposed rule changes stem from comments received from the public in response to the May 2023 Regulatory Notice 23-09…
Rule 15c2-11 Relief for Fixed Income Securities
Broker-dealers had been preparing for the sunset of the prior time-based relief that the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission provided in respect of compliance with Rule 15c2-11 as to certain fixed income securities, which expires on January 4, 2025. The SEC had separately provided exemptive relief with respect to Rule 144A securities; however…
FINRA Rules Applicable to Securities Offerings
FINRA Highlights Increasing Cybersecurity Risks at Third-Party Providers
The Cyber and Analytics Unit within the Member Supervision program of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) recently published a cybersecurity advisory regarding increasing cybersecurity risks at third-party providers (the “Cybersecurity Advisory”). The Cybersecurity Advisory highlights third-party risks to FINRA member firms and effective practices to mitigate such risks.
FINRA’s advisory comes at a…
FINRA Update on Crypto Asset Activities
On August 14, 2024, FINRA published an update (the “Update”) on its ongoing efforts to engage with its members related to crypto asset activities. The Update describes “crypto assets” as assets that are issued or transferred using distributed ledger or blockchain technology. They include, but are not limited to, so-called virtual currencies, coins, and tokens.