FINRA Investigations and Sanctions
Chapters in this video
- 0:00 FINRA's broad investigative authority and OTRs
- 1:35 The automatic bar for refusing to cooperate
- 2:18 The six-rung sanction ladder from censure to expulsion
- 3:25 The two-year suspension cap and permanent bar threshold
- 4:10 The seven-day unpaid fine rule
- 4:34 AWC settlement versus formal complaint paths
- 5:41 The OHO to NAC to SEC to federal courts appeals chain
- 6:13 Rapid-fire exam recap
What this video covers
- Why FINRA does not need a subpoena or court order to compel production of books, records, or on-the-record testimony from members and associated persons
- How failure to cooperate with a FINRA investigation is itself a violation that results in a permanent bar, not merely a fine or suspension
- The six sanctions in order of increasing severity: censure, fine, restitution, suspension, bar, and expulsion
- Why the two-year suspension cap matters: misconduct warranting more than two years typically results in a permanent bar instead
- The seven-day rule for unpaid fines and the suspension or expulsion that follows nonpayment
- What an Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) settlement entails, including the waiver of hearing and appeal rights and the public BrokerCheck disclosure
- The formal complaint appeals chain from Office of Hearing Officers (OHO) to National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to federal courts
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