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FINRA May Clampdown On Brokers, Unpaid Awards

Next week, FINRA will take a look at two problems that have been plaguing it: brokers with disciplinary records who manage to keep popping back up in the industry and firms that do not pay arbitration awards. The regulator will "consider proposed rule amendments and other steps designed to heighten the oversight of high-risk brokers and the firms that employ them," according to its agenda for its meeting on May 10 in New York. Dealing with repeatedly problematic brokers has been an issue for FINRA for years. At the beginning of the year, FINRA stated that monitoring these brokers was its top priority in ts annual regulatory and examination priorities letter and created a team to monitor these rogue brokers. FINRA will additionally consider changing its arbitration procedures and Form U4 regarding payment of arbitration awards by firm and brokers. The Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association issued a study last year showing that $62 million in arbitration awards were not [...]

By |May 5th, 2017|Uncategorized|
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Adrienne Mennemeyer Wins $1.8M Against PNC For Wrongful Firing And Defamation

Adrienne Mennemeyer won $1.8 million in an arbitration against PNC Investments over a dispute over her termination from the company. On April 18, a FINRA arbitration panel issued an award, ordering PNC to pay her $1.5 million in punitive damages and $300,000 in compensatory damages arsing from her termination in December of 2013. On her FINRA BrokerCheck report, PNC claimed that Adrienne Mennemeyer was "terminated for dishonesty and a violation of PNC Bank policy" after she closed a pending checking account application and resubmitted it to "avoid further internal risk review of the application." PNC claimed that no securities or securities customers were involved in the matter. Mennemeyer countered by stating that she "did not commit any act of dishonesty during [her] tenure at PNC" and that she "did not knowingly violate any policy of PNC." She further claimed that the policy she was accused of violating was not even a written policy of PNC and that she believed her actions were [...]

By |April 20th, 2017|Uncategorized|
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FINRA Arbitrators Explaining Expungement Decisions More Thoroughly

FINRA arbitrators are starting to explain expungement decisions more thoroughly, getting rid of some of the mystery associated with removing customer disputes from brokers' records. This can certainly be seen in recent awards. According to the Securities Arbitration Commentator, the number of explained decisions in cases where the parties reached a settlement has increased to twenty-two percent through the first quarter of 2017 from fifteen percent last year. "Arbitrators are feeling ... in stipulated proceedings that they owe a greater explanation as to why they're doing what they're doing," says editor of the Securities Arbitration Commentator Rick Ryder. "They are perhaps taking a view that a good explanation is a precedent. It helps the parties to have these explanations." Almost every brokerage contract has a mandatory arbitration clause. Customer complaints are resolved by a panel of three arbitrators, who either come from the industry or are public arbitrators. These arbitrators decide the cases, if they do not get settled [...]

By |April 11th, 2017|FINRA, Broker Check|
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Oppenheimer & Co. Fined By FINRA

FINRA fined Oppenheimer & Co. $3.4 Million for failures in reporting internal discipline, giving information in arbitration cases, and offering sales discounts to customers. Between 2008 and 2016, the firm was on average four years late making 365 filings with FINRA, pertaining to disciplinary actions it took against its own brokers and arbitration and litigation settlements. The regulator also said that from 2010 to 2013, Oppenheimer did not provide documents to seven claimants in an arbitration case against ex-registered representative Mark Hotton. Oppenheimer has already paid $6 million to settle the claims alleged in that case. Additionally, FINRA said the firm overcharged 825 customers $1,010,327 between 2009 and 2015 for mutual funds shares because it did not apply the appropriate fee waiver. FINRA issued a $1.575 million fine and forced Oppenheimer to pay $703,122 to the arbitration claimants and $1,142,619 to its mutual fund customers. “It's important for firms to [...]

By |November 18th, 2016|FINRA, Press Releases & News|
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