The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) will approve FINRA’s proposal to provide more public information about brokers who are the subject of complaints and disciplinary actions. Specifically, the proposal allows FINRA to release publicly a copy of any disciplinary complaint or decision it issues, including the names of the parties in the matter. The majority of pending FINRA complaints against registered representatives and firms are disclosed in summary form in FINRA’s BrokerCheck system.
FINRA now will be permitted to release more details through monthly notices and in its online system for reporting disciplinary actions. Some disciplinary information currently not permitted to be disclosed by FINRA is available on BrokerCheck, including unredacted summaries of FINRA moves. Critics, however, are wary of the latitude that FINRA now has to include in its monthly reports and database complaints that the organization has filed against registered reps.
Reps who believe that any complaints and disciplinary actions contain false or exaggerated allegations now will have an even greater incentive to see to challenge the accuracy of those filings and/or seek to clarify the language of those filings.
