Two noteworthy developments in the securities industry emerged this month, one offering relief to broker-dealers and the other serving as a stark reminder of evolving fraud risks. FINRA Removes Pre-Review Requirement for Negative-Consent Bulk Account Transfer Letters On February 6, 2026, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 26-03 announcing a significant procedural change effective April 1, 2026….
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On December 9, 2025, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released its Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (Report) recapping its notable findings and regulatory activities. The Report itself does not create any new legal obligations but rather serves as an informative resource to firms by providing effective practices based on current trends and evolving risks within…
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On December 1, 2025, Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced criminal charges against UBS and the former Credit Suisse, marking a significant development in the long-running “tuna bonds” scandal. The charges stem from allegations that Credit Suisse failed to prevent money laundering tied to over $2 billion in loans arranged for Mozambique’s state-owned…
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On September 17, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a new policy statement clarifying the effect of mandatory arbitration clauses on its decisions to accelerate the effectiveness of registration statements. In doing so, the SEC confirmed that registration agreements containing mandatory arbitration clauses between issuers and investors will not impact decisions to accelerate…
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Advisor’s Fraud Leads to Prison Sentence A 63-year-old former financial advisor was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison for wire fraud after defrauding a client of $531,411.00 over approximately six years. The sentencing, announced on September 30, 2025, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, followed the advisor’s guilty plea in June 2025. The fraud targeted…
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On August 22, 2025, a broker faced a four-month suspension from the securities industry after regulators found he had allocated up to 91% of a client’s net worth into illiquid alternative investments. The broker, based in suburban Dallas, was also fined $10,000.00, according to his BrokerCheck profile. Most firms limit alternative investment allocations to around…
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The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), a trade association representing broker-dealers, investment banks, and asset managers, submitted a thoughtful and pragmatic letter to FINRA on July 11, 2025, proposing five critical reforms to enhance the fairness, efficiency, and professionalism of FINRA’s arbitration process. These proposals aim to modernize the system, ensuring it meets…
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The number of brokerage firms in the United States continues to shrink, even as fee-only advisory firms gain momentum—a sign of how quickly the financial services industry is moving away from commission-based business models. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) 2025 Industry Snapshot, the number of registered broker-dealers dropped to 2,840 at the…
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) has published its 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “Report”). This year, the Report adds new topics relating to the third-party risk landscape, registered index-linked annuities and extended hours trading. The Report also includes new content on various topics from last year’s report, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (“AI”)…
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In a sweeping policy shift, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins announced a plan to modernize the agency’s regulatory approach to cryptocurrency, signaling a more accommodating stance for digital asset innovation while reaffirming the SEC’s oversight responsibilities. Speaking at a roundtable hosted by the SEC’s crypto task force, Atkins made clear that one…
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