News & Events

Based on feedback from a retrospective rule review initiated in August 2019, FINRA proposed rule amendments intended to strengthen the ability of member firms to address suspected financial exploitation of seniors and other vulnerable individuals. The proposed amendments would permit a broker-dealer to impose a longer hold period on a senior investor's account and to expand coverage to include holds on transactions in securities. FINRA seeks comments by December 4, 2020. Please read the full article for a closer look.

We asked Bates Group experts and consultants with deep experience in fixed income and municipal securities to share some perspective on how the pandemic has impacted investors over the past six months. Here are some of their insights on recent market volatility, Federal Reserve intervention, credit ratings, and the likelihood of potential investor litigation going forward.

A recent article from WealthManagement.com highlights comments made at the Bates Compliance-SIFMA webinar on virtual branch office visits, held October 5, 2020. This webinar is available for on-demand viewing from SIFMA.and features Bates Compliance Director Jill Ehret.

Today, October 26, 2020, the SEC and FINRA staff will hold a remote public roundtable to discuss their observations on the implementation of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) and Customer Relationship Summary disclosure form (“Form CRS”) since mandatory compliance began on June 30, 2020. Following the program, on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT, Bates Compliance will hold its own webinar with Global Relay to discuss “Reg BI - 120 Days On.”

In a likely preview of the SEC Division of Enforcement 2020 Annual Report, SEC Chair Jay Clayton and Division of Enforcement Director Stephanie Avakian gave back-to-back speeches regarding the agency’s enforcement record since they took the reins in 2017. In context, these speeches presented a strong accounting of the impact the Division has had on the financial industry during their tenure. The remarks, delivered last month to the Institute for Law and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, also raised some of the important challenges to the SEC’s enforcement priorities presented by COVID-19. Here are the highlights from their speeches.

Reg BI came into effect on June 30, 2020 and 120 days on, Global Relay and Bates Compliance experts Donald McElligott, Hank Sanchez and Robert Lavigne will assess the impact the biggest change to regulation in years has delivered. Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 11:00 AM Pacific / 2:00 PM Eastern.

Bates is a proud Gold sponsor of the 2020 NSCP National Conference, October 19-21, 2020. Bates Compliance Manging Director and NSCP Board member Linda Shirkey will be speaking on Day 1 of the conference.

Bates Group expert and consultant Sheila Murphy will be appearing Friday, October 16, 2020 on the Insurance Industry CxO Roundtable webcast. Sponsored by In The House, a private network for General Counsel and other in-house attorneys.

On Monday, October 5, 2020, nearly 700 Compliance, Supervision, Risk, Legal and Regulatory experts and professionals tuned in to a panel discussion covering virtual branch office inspections and the challenges facing regulators and industry supervision and compliance teams. The webinar, jointly organized by Bates Compliance and SIFMA, reviewed the current requirements and status of branch office inspections, recent regulatory relief, and compliance expectations for on-site inspection requirements going forward. Here are some important takeaways from this discussion.

Bates Group is proud to welcome our newest experts and consultants: 

• Gary Ferrari - AML, Financial Crimes, Global Compliance Risk Management
• Barbara A. Halper, JD, MBA - BD-IA Compliance, Seniors and Vulnerable Investors, Compliance Testimony
• Timothy McClendon, CIC, CWCA - Insurance, Workers’ Compensation, Risk Management
• Edward Truax - Insurance and Annuities, 401K/Pension/Retirement, Elder Issues

FINRA Enforcement has recently initiated enforcement actions concerning mutual funds and brokers of record centering around client impact, remediation, and other issues. Read the full Alert to learn more about FINRA Enforcement's focus on "brokers of record," and other products on the regulator’s radar.

In this complimentary CLE webinar, hear directly from compliance and risk leaders, including FINRA, on the latest updates concerning virtual branch office compliance visits. Jill Ehret (Director, Bates Compliance) will appear on the panel, moderated by Paul Tyrrell (Partner, Sidley Austin), with opening remarks by Bates CEO Jennifer Stout. October 5, 2020 at 1 p.m. Eastern, co-hosted by SIFMA and Bates Compliance.

On September 15, 2020, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued an alert urging investment advisers and broker-dealers to review their customer account protection safeguards and identity theft prevention programs. The impetus behind the alert is an increase in the number of cyber-attacks using a tactic called “credential stuffing,” observed during recent examinations. OCIE also disclosed a number of practices firms are using to mitigate this emergent risk.

Just a few weeks ago, Bates highlighted a series of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) compliance communications. Since then, FinCEN, along with other banking agencies (including the Federal Reserve and FDIC), has issued several important public statements on CDD requirements, the unlawful disclosure of SARs information and BSA enforcement approach. Bates has a recap of these new communications.

Bates is a proud Silver sponsor of this year's SIFMA C&L Virtual Forum online event, September 23-24, 2020. Stop by our virtual exhibit booth to connect with Bates leaders, download materials and enter our annual raffle.

Join A. Christine Davis, Bates Managing Director of Forensic Accounting and PLI program co-chair, and Edward Longridge, Managing Director of Bates AML & Financial Crimes, at the  PLI Pocket MBA 2020: Finance for Lawyers and Other Professionals CLE Webinar. The Pocket MBA program is designed to improve understanding of business strategies, accounting fundamentals and vocabulary used by management, investors, auditors and bankers. Sept. 21-22, 2020 via Live Webcast