The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority wants to significantly expand the data it publishes about brokers on its BrokerCheck Web site at finra.org/brokercheck.
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Finra plans to submit a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission to make records for brokers who leave the industry available to the public via BrokerCheck for 10 years instead of the current two years. Certain data, such as criminal convictions and some civil judgments and arbitration awards, would become permanently available.
Finra also wants to increase the number of customer complaints and legal actions that are publicly reported. Under its proposal, all "historic" complaints dating back to 1999 would be made available for any broker registered within the previous 10 years, even if he or she has left the industry.
Historic complaints generally are more than two years old and either haven't been concluded or were settled for less than $15,000. Currently, historic complaints are reported only when the broker has been involved in three or more regulatory actions or events that require disclosure.
BrokerCheck files presently include, among other things, criminal information, arbitration claims, certain civil litigation, allegations of sales-practice violations with losses of $15,000 or more, bankruptcies and regulatory actions.
—Ms. Barlyn is a reporter for Dow Jones Newswires in New York.
Email her at suzanne.barlyn@dowjones.com.
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