US Corporate Law News: FINRA releases 2018 proposed rulemaking agenda

In mid-December 2017, FINRA's Board of Governors released its 2018 proposed rulemaking agenda. The first proposal would require alternative trading systems (ATSs) to identify their subscribers when reporting transactions involving U.S. Treasury securities to FINRA's Transaction Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE). The second proposal would remove impediments to capital formation by amending FINRA Rule 5130 (Restrictions on the Purchase and Sale of IPOs) and FINRA Rule 5131 (New Issue Allocations and Distributions) to add exemptions for certain persons and transactions. The third proposal would streamline rules regulating outside business activities by exempting or eliminating review of personal investments, work performed on behalf of a firm's affiliate and certain non-broker-dealer activities with unaffiliated third parties. The fourth proposal would amend FINRA Rule 2111 (Suitability) making it easier to prosecute brokers for recommending excessive numbers of trades. The fifth proposal would revise fees for competency examinations. The sixth proposal would amend FINRA Rule 2210 (Communications with the Public) and Rule 2241 (Research Analysts and Research Reports) to conform to the Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017 (FAIR Act), thereby reducing broker-dealer burdens to produce research reports on covered investment funds.