Broker-Dealer Regulation
SEC Proposes Major Revisions to Rule 15a-6
What This Means
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently proposed substantial amendments to Rule 15a-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), which provides conditional exemptions from broker-dealer registration for foreign entities involved in certain activities involving certain U.S. investors. The proposed amendments to Rule 15a-6 would expand the scope of certain of those exemptions, and would ease or eliminate some of existing restrictions on interactions between foreign broker-dealers and U.S. customers. Comments on the proposal are due to the SEC 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register, which should be during this week (June 30). >>> continued
FINRA Issues Proposals on Rulebook Consolidation
What This Means
FINRA has issued four proposals to consolidate existing NASD and NYSE rules into a single rulebook. Comments on the proposals are due to FINRA by June 13, 2008. The proposals are preliminary—they still must be filed with and adopted by the SEC before they can take effect. However, these proposals represent the first formal steps toward creating a single rulebook for broker-dealers that are FINRA members, which was a main objective of last year’s consolidation of member regulatory functions into a single SRO. FINRA indicated that the creation of this single rulebook will be accomplished in phases, with substantial completion during the next year.