On January 6, 2015, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(FINRA) released its 2015 Regulatory and Examinations Priorities
Letter. This is the tenth yearly edition of the letter, and while
much is familiar, FINRA has organized its priorities under a
"customers first" umbrella. This new approach should give
firms a better idea of the lens through which FINRA will be looking
at compliance issues in the year ahead. FINRA has observed that
firms and registered representatives face challenges that
compromise the quality of the service they provide to customers and
contribute to failures in compliance and supervision. The 2015
letter focuses firms' attention on the following areas: (1)
putting customer interests first; (2) firm culture, with a
particular focus on ethical standards and incentives; (3)
supervision, risk management, and controls; (4) development,
marketing, and sales of novel products and services; and (5)
management of conflicts of interest.
