Exam Alert: FINRA revises its Sanction Guidelines
Effective February 9, 2011, FINRA has modified its Sanction Guidelines. These changes incorporate legal precedent from federal courts and the SEC. The degree of penalties for certain offenses have changed, such as recommending higher fines and firm suspension for "egregious" sales of unregistered securities, particularly in connection with market manipulation. The guidelines for FINRA Rule 8210 now have three categories of violations. Additional details may be found here: http://www.finra.org/Industry/Regulation/Notices/2011/P122910.
Exam Alert: FINRA investigations require encrypted information
As of December 29, 2010, when providing information for a FINRA investigation via a portable media device, the information must be encrypted. This includes information on flash drives, CDs, laptop computers, and other digital storage devices. The encryption must meet industry standards for strong encryption and the encryption key must be provided to FINRA staff in a communication (email, fax, or letter) separate from the information. Relevant to: Series 6, Series 24, Series 26, Series 79, Series 62.