07.28.21
FINRA CEO Wants to Extend Remote Branch Office Inspections Into 2022
by: Mark Schoeff
FINRA Chief Executive Robert Cook wants the regulator to give permission to brokerages to supervise personnel remotely in 2022. Onsite inspections were halted during the pandemic when FINRA approved temporary rules for member firms. Those rules are set to expire in December, but many brokerages continue to operate remotely. This has encouraged the regulator to rethink its approach to rules concerning branch office inspections. Cook said, "What I’d like to see happen here is that we would extend [the relief] into next year and that we would step back and look at that [supervision] rule holistically and think about whether it could use some updating to accommodate a thoughtful, risk-based approach to when in-person exams would be necessary." Before any changes can be made FINRA would have a lot of work to do with other stakeholders. For example, rule changes at FINRA must be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Read the full article on InvestmentNews.