FINRA Issues Notice Regarding SEC's Approval of Amendments to Arbitration Codes (FINRA Reg. Notice 15-21)

FINRA issued a regulatory notice about the SEC's recent approval of amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure. The amendments concern an increase to the fees assessed for the late cancelation or postponement of a hearing.

FINRA Rules 12214(a), 12601(b)(2), 13214(a) and 13601(b)(2) now will require that if one or more parties request a postponement or cancelation within 10 days before a scheduled hearing session, and the arbitrators grant the request, then the party or parties making the request must pay a late cancelation fee of $600 per arbitrator. The amendments also specify that the extended cancelation period and the increased late cancelation fee will not apply to parties whose cases were filed prior to the effective date.

The amendments will become effective on July 6, 2015.

See: FINRA Regulatory Notice 15-21.Related news: SEC Approves FINRA Rule Amendment Regarding Fee Increase for Late Cancelation of Scheduled Hearing (Fed. Reg.) (May 29, 2015); FINRA Proposal Amending Codes of Arbitration Procedures Related to Canceling or Postponing a Hearing Published in the Federal Register (February 24, 2015); FINRA Proposes Amending the Codes of Arbitration Procedure Relating to Canceling or Postponing a Hearing (February 5, 2015).