Summary: The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a regulator of central importance to the functioning of U.S. capital markets. It regulates nearly 4.000 broker-dealers and almost 650,000 registered representatives. It is a private, not-for-profit organization. In 2015, FINRA levied $94 million in fines against broker-dealers, took 1,512 disciplinary actions against broker-dealers, and ordered $97 million in restitution to harmed investors. FINRA has an annual budget of $1 billion. Concerns raised about FINRA include a lack of transparency, the imposition of a large regulatory burden on small broker-dealers, the structure of its rule-making process and the fairness of its arbitration process. Robert Cook became CEO in August, 2016. FINRA, under his leadership, is undertaking a comprehensive review of its rules and practices called FINRA 360. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission stood up a new office to conduct oversight of FINRA and Congress held an oversight hearing. Please join us for an extended conversation with Robert Cook on a wide range of topics, followed by audience questions and answers.
