New FINRA Data Base

Florida FINRA Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

Recently, The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) created an online data base, which contains more information about its disciplinary actions.

The new Disciplinary Actions Online database, provides access to FINRA complaints against firms and individual brokers, settlement agreements (known as Letters of Acceptance Waivers and Consent, or AWCs), decisions by FINRA hearing panels and National Adjudicatory Council decisions.

FINRA publishes a monthly summary of completed cases, but has not, until now, provided links to any documents in these summaries.

Decisions by regional hearing panels and by the NAC, which hears appeals, have been posted separately on FINRA’s website.

The new database will allow searches by broker or firm name, timeframe, key words and case numbers.

The database also includes pending complaints FINRA has filed against firms and brokers. This feature should make pending complaints easier to find.

Beginning June 15, 2011, FINRA’s monthly disciplinary action summaries will provide links to the corresponding documents in the disciplinary database.