FINRA's Investigative Authority and Disciplinary Sanctions

What this video covers

• When FINRA can demand electronic records, and the critical condition that limits that demand to records already kept electronically or required to be kept that way
• The full scope of FINRA's information-and-testimony authority: oral, written, or electronic demands, sworn testimony, and inspection rights covering possession, custody, or control
• Why failing to comply with a FINRA request is a separate violation from the underlying matter being investigated
• How FINRA's Sanction Guidelines treat non-response versus incomplete response (standard sanction: bar) compared with late but complete response (recommended suspension of three months to two years)
• Why settling a customer complaint away from the firm is not automatically a violation, and what aggravating factors (concealment, deception, delayed Form U4 or Form U5 filing) actually create liability
• The complete sanctions toolkit: censure, fine, suspension, expulsion, cancellation, revocation, bar, and cease-and-desist order
• The exam-critical distinction between a suspension (definite or conditional period, eventual return permitted) and a bar (indefinite removal from associating with any FINRA member)