In its biennial report on examinations of state-registered investment advisers, the North American Securities Administrators Association highlighted that most investment advisers lack policies and procedures regarding the financial exploitation of seniors or other vulnerable investors.
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Task Force on Financial Technology considered testimony on developments in data sharing and FinTech which raise consumer protection and regulatory questions.
FINRA will review (i) firms' customer acquisition practices that utilize social media channels, and (ii) firm compliance with related obligations to protect customer information.
The SEC sanctioned eight firms in three separate actions for cybersecurity deficiencies that resulted in the exposure of the personally identifying information of thousands of customers and clients.
FINRA's Office of Financial Innovation requested comment on the regulatory implications of cloud computing, a technology increasingly adopted by broker-dealers for the purposes of scaling operations, business continuity and launching products.
FINRA reminded firms of their obligation to maintain a sufficient supervisory system for activities outsourced to third-party vendors. FINRA highlighted exam findings and examples of disciplinary actions arising from supervisory lapses.
The U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy considered testimony on the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency.
A firm settled FINRA charges for introducing representatives the firm was recruiting to a third-party vendor so as to obtain customer nonpublic personal information, in violation of the privacy policies of the representatives' previous employers.
A New York State Department of Financial Services investigation found that Facebook routinely obtained sensitive data that was collected through consumers' use of third-party applications.
