FINRA Unscripted

Latest Episodes:

Preparing for Change: What to Know About the Shift to T+1 Apr 16, 2024

Show notes

On May 28th, U.S. markets are moving to a one-day settlement cycle, familiarly known as T+1. This move, which returns the settlement time frame back to a point at which it last stood a century ago, will have wide ranging impacts for firms, investors and regulators.

On this episode, we hear from James Barry, Director of Credit Regulation with FINRA's Office of Financial and Operational Risk Policy, Bobby Gomez, a Senior Director with Market Regulation and Transparency Services' Strategic Initiatives team, Mike MacPherson, a Senior Advisor in Member Supervision's Risk Monitoring group, and John Nachmann, Associate General Counsel with the Office of General Counsel's Regulatory Practice, to discuss what all market participants need to be thinking about and testing ahead of the transition.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Episode 127: Understanding the Unique Risks of Every Firm

DTCC: The Key to T+1 Success Blog

Reg Notice 23-15: Regulation T and SEA Rule 15c3-3 Extension

Technical Notice: T+1 Settlement Testing

FINRA Margin Regulation

FINRA Investor Insight: Understanding Settlement Cycles

2024 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report

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A Cybersecurity Update with FINRA's Complex Investigations and Intelligence Team Apr 02, 2024

Show notes

These days, it's not a matter of if, but when, when it comes to cybersecurity incidents, which is why it's essential for all firms to ensure they're prepared for the inevitable.

On this episode, we're catching up with Bryan Smith, the new senior vice president of FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence (CII) team and Brita Bayatmakou, vice president of the Cyber and Analytics Unit within CII, for an update on CII, the cyber threat landscape and what firms should be thinking about and doing in response to the latest trends.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

FINRA's FBI Cyber Threat Briefings (Next Briefing: April 22)

Episode 112: Introducing FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence Team

CISA Alerts and Advisories

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: Industry Alerts

Reg Notice 21-29: Obligations Related to Outsourcing to Third-Party Vendors

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MRTS 2.0: A Redesign for a Rapidly Evolving Market Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

U.S. financial markets today are not what they were ten years ago, five years ago, or even just a couple of years ago. Over the years, FINRA's Market Regulation and Transparency Services (MRTS) team successfully grew and evolved to meet the changing demands of the markets they oversaw. But recently, the group took time to ask, how would we build this team if we were starting from scratch? And the answer to that question involved redesigning the group structure around specific functions, rather than around specific rules or products.

On this episode, we hear from Feral Talib, Executive Vice President of Surveillance and Market Intelligence, Jackie Perrell, a Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff for MRTS, and Steve Price, Senior Vice President of Market Investigations to learn how the MRTS team has realigned itself, allowing it to be more nimble in addressing and anticipating risks, to better leverage its data and more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report

Feral Talib Named Executive Vice President and Head of Surveillance & Market Intelligence

Episode 60: Greg Ruppert and the National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Programs

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An Evolving Landscape: Generative AI and Large Language Models in the Financial Industry Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM) are taking the world by storm, presenting numerous opportunities to create business efficiencies. While the new technologies offer many potential benefits to firms, regulators and investors, they also introduce unique risks.

On this episode, we hear from Brad Ahrens, senior vice president of Advanced Analytics, Andrew McElduff, vice president with Member Supervision's Risk Monitoring team and Haime Workie, vice president and head of FINRA's Office of Financial Innovation, who are closely looking at these technologies and following developments in this space to learn how FINRA is looking at and thinking about generative AI when it comes to its own business and what it's looking at and seeing when it comes to firm use of these tools.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Securities Industry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Investment Fraud

Reg Notice 21-19: Obligations Related to Outsourcing to Third-Party Vendors

Rule 3110: Supervision

2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report

2023 Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence for Congress

NIST: Artificial Intelligence

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Investors of Color: New Insights from FINRA’s Investor Education Foundation Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation has released a new report, Investors of Color in the United States, examining the behavior and attitudes of investors of color based on data from the FINRA Foundation's National Financial Capability Study coupled with a series of focus groups conducted with young Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Asian American/Pacific Islander investors.

The report shows interesting trends related to the pace at which these investors are entering the market, their views on risk, where they're receiving information and more. On this episode, we hear more from Ritta McLaughlin, Director of Investor Education, Community Outreach, and Principal Research Analyst Olivia Valdes to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Investors of Color in the United States (2024)

Gen Z and Investing: Social Media, Crypto, FOMO, and Family (2023)

Investors in the United States: The Changing Landscape (2022)

New Accounts and the People Who Opened Them (2021)

FINRA Investor Education Foundation

Episode 134: Gen Z Investors

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From NCFC to Enforcement Head: Reintroducing Bill St. Louis Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

FINRA Enforcement works tirelessly on the front lines of investor protection, whether looking into cases of fraud or ways that bad actors try to manipulate the markets. This tremendous undertaking demands steadfast leadership.

On this episode, we meet Bill St. Louis, the former head of FINRA’s National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program and FINRA's new Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement, to learn more about the man at the helm and what's on the horizon for Enforcement in the new year.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report

FINRA Enforcement Homepage

FINRA Names Bill St. Louis as New Head of Enforcement

FINRA Fines BofA Securities $24 Million for Treasuries Spoofing

FINRA Expels Monmouth Capital Management

Qualification Exams

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Compliance and Communication: An Update on FINRA’s Crypto Asset Targeted Exam Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

FINRA recently wrapped up a targeted review of the practices of certain member firms when it comes to communicating with retail investors regarding crypto products and services. On this episode, Ira Gluck, Senior Director, Advertising Regulation at FINRA, joins us to share the results of that crypto asset communications sweep that began in November 2022.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Advertising Regulation Department

Crypto Asset Communications Targeted Exam Letter

Crypto Asset Key Topics

Crypto Sweep Update

FINRA Blog: An Inside Look into FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work

Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub

Episode 137: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team

Episode 138: FINRA’s Blockchain Lab

Rule 2210: Communications with the Public

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2024’s Must-Read | FINRA’s Annual Regulatory Oversight Report Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

As a self-regulatory organization, information sharing is key to FINRA's pursuit of its mission of investor protection and market integrity, and no single resource is a better example of that than FINRA's Annual Regulatory Oversight Report.

On this episode, Ornella Bergeron, Senior Vice President of Risk Monitoring, Omer Meisel, Executive Vice President of the National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program, Claire O'Sullivan, Vice President and Regulatory Advisor of Stakeholder Engagement, and Michael Solomon, Senior Vice President of Examinations, join us to discuss highlights from the 2024 report.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report

Reg Notice 23-20: Guidance and Resources Related to Regulation Best Interest

Reg Notice 23-11: Concept Proposal for a Liquidity Risk Management Rule

Reg Notice 21-35: Proposed Order Routing Disclosure Requirements

SEC FAQ on Form CRS

CAT NMS Plan Website

Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub

Episode 137: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team

Episode 138: FINRA’s Blockchain Lab

Episode 129: A New Twist on New Account Fraud

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FINRA’s Blockchain Lab: Regulation and Innovation For The Future Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

In this third and final episode in our series covering FINRA's ongoing crypto asset regulatory work, we hear from FINRA's Blockchain Lab, which serves as a central point within FINRA for the development of blockchain-related regulatory initiatives.

Michael Oh, Senior Director of the Blockchain Lab, Brian Huerbsch, a Senior Blockchain Data Analyst, and Jason Foye, Senior Director and head of FINRA's Crypto Hub share how the Lab is supporting and advancing FINRA's regulatory work involving crypto assets.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub

Episode 137: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team

Investor Insights: What Is a Blockchain, and Why Should I Care?

FINRA Blog: An Inside Look into FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work

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A Closer Look at Crypto: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

As the crypto asset space has grown, FINRA has evolved its oversight of the crypto asset activities of FINRA member firms and their associated persons. In this second episode of a three-part series covering FINRA's crypto asset-related regulatory work, we hear from Jamie Udinson, Senior Director of the Crypto Asset Investigations team, Taylor Etzell, a Senior Principal Investigator, and Jason Foye, Senior Director and head of FINRA's Crypto Hub, who provide insight into FINRA's Crypto Asset Investigations Team.

We learn more about this dedicated group of investigators specializing in conducting complex crypto asset investigations and the crucial role it plays in ensuring compliance with existing rules and regulations in the crypto asset space.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Episode 71: Overlapping Risks, Part 1: Anti-Money Laundering and Cybersecurity

Episode 72: Overlapping Risks, Part 2: Anti-Money Laundering and Elder Exploitation

Episode 117: Membership Application Program

Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub

Rule 3270: Outside Business Activities of Registered Persons

Rule 3280: Private Securities Transactions of an Associated Person

FINRA Blog: An Inside Look into FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work

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