FINRA Provides Guidance on New Operations Professional Registration Requirement
FINRA RN 11-33
July 22, 2011
FINRA published a regulatory notice to announce that October 17, 2011 will be the effective date for its recently approved rule changes to establish a registration category and qualification examination requirement for certain operations personnel. In addition, the regulatory notice provides a lengthy outline of the rule's requirements.
The rule generally covers (1) senior management with certain operations functions; (2) supervisors and other persons responsible for authorizing certain operations functions; and (3) persons with the authority or discretion to materially commit a firm's capital in furtherance of certain operations functions. Covered operations functions under the proposal would include (i) client onboarding; (ii) collection, maintenance, re-investment, and disbursement of funds; (iii) bank, custody, depositary, and firm account management and reconciliation; (iv) margin; (v) securities lending; (vi) prime brokerage; (vii) approval of pricing models for valuations; (viii) financial control - including general ledger and treasury; and (ix) approving business requirements for sales, trading, and IT systems.
Please contact any of the following Cadwalader attorneys if you have any questions about this item:
Steven Lofchie; [email protected]
Jeffrey Robins; [email protected]
Maurine Bartlett; [email protected]
Glen Barrentine; [email protected]
Cross References
FINRA Rule 1230, 1250
NASD Rule 1120
SEC Release No. 34-64687 (approval of rule change)
SEC Release No. 34-64080 (proposal)
FINRA RN 09-70 (requesting comment on proposed registration and qualification requirements)
Comments received on RN 09-70