The industry and some lawmakers balked at the plan, saying it could infringe on customers' privacy and could become a ripe target for hackers seeking to steal the identities of investors. Brokerages also complained that the plan would have been burdensome and costly.
FINRA does not plan to revive the proposal, known as "Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System," or CARDS, said Ketchum, who expressed some regret about its failure.
But he said another planned database unveiled by the SEC on Wednesday might help plug the information gap.
The database, known as a "consolidated audit trail," would track equity and options trades. It could help reconstruct events like the 2010 flash crash, and "more efficiently identify and investigate potential misconduct," SEC chair Mary Jo White said in prepared remarks.
FINRA is one of three organizations bidding to run the database. It might be able to use information from the audit trail for the same purposes it had planned for the CARDS database, Ketchum said.
As far as BrokerCheck goes, FINRA will consider displaying the percentage of brokers with various complaints and regulatory problems at each firm, Ketchum said.
FINRA is also considering making the underlying data available to the public or for licensing, he said. The regulator has long restricted access to the data because of concerns that firms would use it to mislead investors about competitors, among other reasons, Ketchum said.