FINRA Membership Application Rules Retrospective – FirstMark’s Summary

 

Check out the article written by FirstMark’s founder, Mitch Atkins, on LinkedIn summarizing the comments received in response to the FINRA Membership Application Rules Retrospective. This retrospective is a look back at the FINRA Membership Application Rules and further a request to the public for comment on what might be changed about the rules and processes.  FINRA often seeks comment about rule changes, but the retrospective is a bit different. FINRA has specifically selected rules for review as part of this process. Another area under review is the FINRA Advertising Rules. What is interesting is that despite the level of attention (i.e. frustration) that some have voiced about these rules over the years, very few actually commented in response to FINRA’s request. After reviewing the comment letters, Mitch Atkins believes that many of the common issues that arise in connection with the FINRA Membership Application Rules have been addressed.  To find out exactly what the commenters said, visit Mitch Atkins’ full article.

Mitch Atkins is a former regulator who held many roles at FINRA (and previously NASD) over a period of 20 years. He was responsible for overseeing FINRA’s South Region and administration of the FINRA Membership Application program within that region before the process was centralized in FINRA’s New York Offices. He has extensive experience with the FINRA Membership Application Rules and FINRA process for handling membership applications. For the last two years, Mitch Atkins has served as a FINRA Membership Application Rules consultant, helping those who wish to file FINRA NMA or CMA applications through FirstMark Regulatory Solutions which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With 22 years of experience with FINRA Membership Application Rules, Mitch Atkins is uniquely positioned to offer an opinion and commentary. In the article, Mitch Atkins provides his perspective on the comments and what FINRA might do in response.