The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) announced today it is consolidating its three examination functions into a single program to streamline regulatory exams for the 3,600 broker-dealers and 630,000 registered representatives it oversees.
In addition to each type of firm getting a senior leader, Finra also plans to assign each firm its own “single point of accountability,” Finra announced in a statement.
Finra appointed Bari Havlik, Finra’s executive vice president of member supervision, to head the new senior examination and risk-monitoring team that is overseeing the program.
"Implementing a unified program structure will help make us a more agile and risk-focused regulator, able to direct our expertise and resources in a more tailored way,” Havlik said. “As a result, we expect to continue to become more effective at examining firms for compliance and protecting investors."
Finra regularly examines the 3,600 broker-dealer firms it oversees for compliance with its rules as well as those of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the self-regulatory organization said.
The consolidation will bring Finra’s business conduct, financial reporting and trading compliance exam programs under a single framework, Finra said.
As part of the new program, all Finra member firms will be grouped into one of five main business models: retail, capital markets, carrying and clearing, trading and execution, and diversified, which will each have a senior Finra leader.
In the coming weeks, “each firm will be also be assigned a single point of accountability, the leader who has ultimate responsibility for the ongoing risk monitoring, risk assessment, planning and scoping of examinations tailored to the risks of a firm's business activities,” Finra said
The Finra360 organizational review launched by Finra President and CEO Robert W. Cook in 2018 "helped inform the development of the new framework by identifying areas for improvement in the current programs,” Finra said in a press release.
Finra’s appointed the following senior vice presidents as senior leaders: