Board Appoints Industry Governors, Discusses FINRA’s Long-Term Financial Planning and Hears Latest From Key Stakeholders
FINRA’s Board of Governors met on September 18-19. The agenda included discussions around FINRA’s long-term financial planning and engagement with key stakeholders, including representatives of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and FINRA’s South and Mid-West Regional Committees.
The Board also recently appointed two Industry Governors: Cyrus Amir-Mokri, General Counsel for J.P. Morgan's Commercial & Investment Bank; and Eric Schimpf, President and Co-Head of Merrill Wealth Management. Amir-Mokri is the new investment company affiliate representative on the Board, and Schimpf is the new floor broker representative. They have joined the Board with newly elected Board Governors Jennifer Szaro, Chief Compliance Officer and a managing equity owner at XML Securities and its affiliated registered investment adviser, XML Financial Group; and John Vaccaro, Chair and CEO of MML Investors Services, Head of MassMutual Financial Advisors and Chair of MassMutual Trust Company. In addition, James Crowley, CEO of Pershing Advisor Solutions, and Senior Executive Vice President and Global Head of BNY Pershing, was recently re-elected to the Board.
“The new Governors bring an invaluable array of perspectives from across the public and private sectors. I welcome all of the new Governors and look forward to their contributions to our Board’s strategic guidance for FINRA’s critical work in protecting investors and promoting market integrity,” said FINRA Board Chair Eric Noll.
FINRA staff also presented to the Board a review of FINRA’s Enforcement Digital Transformation — which the Board approved in 2020 to modernize and enhance the systems and tools supporting the Enforcement Department’s disposition processes — and provided updates on recent market frauds and other issues in the financial crimes space.
“FINRA remains committed to regularly enhancing the technology and processes we use to oversee our member firms and monitor the securities markets, to keep pace with the rapidly evolving investment landscape and to continuously improve our effectiveness and efficiency as a self-regulatory organization,” said FINRA CEO Robert Cook.
The Board also discussed forthcoming Regulatory Notices, including proposed changes to FINRA’s rules promoting capital formation. The proposed changes are responsive to feedback that FINRA received to an earlier Regulatory Notice soliciting comment on potential enhancements to FINRA’s rules relating to the capital-raising process.
Several leaders of NASAA, including recently elected President Leslie Van Buskirk, shared with the Board their priorities for the coming year and discussed how FINRA and NASAA can continue to work together toward their common mission of investor protection.
The Board also hosted a joint meeting with Chicago-area member firms and FINRA’s South and Mid-West Regional Committees. It was the first time FINRA held multiple committee meetings in the same location, which allowed participants to engage with each other and share effective practices.
More information regarding the Board's operations, including the membership and responsibilities of its committees, is available here.
About FINRA
FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. FINRA regulates one critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.
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