FINRA Releases its Risk Monitoring and Exam Priorities Letter for 2019
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:
FINRA has released its 2019 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter to the public. This is the first in a series highlighting both FINRA’s new priorities, as well as ongoing issues discussed in the Letter.
To begin, FINRA discussed some of its “Highlighted Items,” which include: online distribution platforms; fixed income mark-up disclosures; and regulatory technology.
More specifically, there has been an uptick in the industry in offerings distributed by online platforms in reliance to 506(c) of Regulation D and Regulation A under the Securities Act of 1933. Therefore, FINRA plans on evaluating how firms conduct their reasonable basis and customer-specific suitability analyses, supervise communications with the public, and meet AML requirements.
In addition, FINRA will review different firms’ compliance with regards to their mark-up or mark-down disclosure obligations on fixed income transactions. FINRA will utilize a system that it has developed which generates a report detailing information such as trade details and graphical displays in order to demonstrate trend analysis.
Lastly, since regulatory technology (RegTech) tools are widely used in the industry, FINRA will work with firms in determining how they are using these tools in compliance with the rules and regulations of the industry. Furthermore, FINRA will educate the firms on the related risks involved with this type of technology.
The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial investors and advisors including Securities Fraud, Compliance Protection, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, FINRA Matters, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.
Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston
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