Alert: FINRA Consolidating Exam and Risk Monitoring Programs

On October 1, FINRA announced that it will consolidate its Examination and Risk Monitoring Programs under a single structure. When completed in 2019, the move will incorporate business conduct, financial compliance and trading compliance under one unified framework.

The decision is a result of recent deliberations under FINRA360, the organization’s ongoing self-evaluation and improvement initiative. In April, FINRA issued a Progress Report which identified areas of improvement for the Examination Program. The Report concluded that “central to this effort is an ongoing and evolving risk-monitoring program, under which each member firm is assigned a regulatory coordinator responsible for communicating regularly with the firm, understanding its business, and identifying potential risks to the firm, investors and markets.” The announced single framework model will “create a single point of accountability for the examination of firms” and is expected to “better direct and align examination resources to the risk profile and complexity of member firms.”

New Executive Vice President of Member Supervision, Bari Havlik will oversee the consolidation process through 2019.

For information concerning Bates Compliance Solutions, please contact us by phone at (503) 670-7772 or email Robert Lavigne, Managing Director, Bates Compliance Solutions at rlavigne@batesgroup.com.