Regulation

While a religious group was predicting the imminent Apocalypse last week, a set of financial services industry representatives were warning of the possible end to their own world.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel awarded $1.7 million to a Texas man and the estate of his deceased wife, after finding that a former independent contractor at Raymond James Financial Services improperly managed their portfolio using life insurance and variable annuities.

The firm should have been more on the ball, from a supervisory standpoint, the claimants’ attorney said.

Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) have proposed the Savings Enhancement by Alleviating Leakage in 401(k) Savings Act (SEAL), which would limit the number of loans that participants can take from their 401(k) to no more than three at a time.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has proposed that broker-dealers disclose any revenue-splitting arrangements they have with mutual funds at the time they sell their shares to investors.

Among other things, the rules are expected to keep executives or employees of credit rating agencies from going to work for the companies whose credit they have rated, for at least one year. The proposals are also likely to block agencies from having a person who markets its products or services also participate in its ratings.

Top officials at the FHFA have watched with alarm as the level of the Federal Home Loan banks' investments has surged, sometimes surpassing the level of their advances.

As the government builds a new regime for writing consumer protection rules, an existing bank regulator has put a twist on enforcing them.

Advisory clients, attorneys and other members of the public previously had to contact the staff at Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to get copies of disciplinary actions for firms and registered representatives.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Kane, McKenna Capital Inc. and Wulff, Hansen & Co. a total of $27,500 for municipal transaction disclosure and trade rule violations.