A brokerage firm agreed to pay a fine and restitution to settle FINRA sanctions that it (i) inadequately supervised customer use of leverage in their brokerage accounts, and (ii) lacked adequate supervisory systems and procedures to ensure the suitability of transactions in certain Puerto Rican securities.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved a final rule that detailed the method to be used to adjust annual inflation to the threshold for exempting small loans from special appraisal requirements. The FRB and the CFPB also issued a final rule detailing the method for adjusting the thresholds for exempting certain consumer credit and lease transactions.

The NFA asked its members and non-members to submit nominations for five Public Representative seats on the Board. The seats will be filled at the NFA's Annual Meeting on February 16, 2017.

MSRB rule amendments requiring broker-dealers and municipal dealers to disclose certain markups or markdowns on retail customer confirmations will become effective on May 14, 2018.

The SEC renewed the charter of the Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee. The Committee approved recommendations on market quality and order handling disclosure.