FINRA Board Approves Four Rule-Modernisation Proposals for SEC Filing

FINRA said its Board of Governors approved four rule proposals for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission after its 29–30 September meeting. The proposals are part of FINRA Forward, the regulator’s rule-modernisation programme.

The package would revise the membership-application rules to focus reviews more closely on risk, add flexibility to the annual CEO compliance and supervisory-process certification deadline, and remove the Same Quote Rule. That rule currently requires members to show the same price for an OTC equity security when quoting it on multiple platforms. The fourth proposal would repeal a mutual-fund prospectus cash-compensation disclosure requirement that FINRA says overlaps with Regulation Best Interest and other disclosure rules.

These are proposals, not operative changes: they must be filed with, and considered by, the SEC. FINRA also said the Board received updates on market surveillance, cyber and information security, artificial intelligence strategy and a unified Regulatory Operations division.

Why it matters

The potential removal of the Same Quote Rule is the most direct market-structure item for OTC participants. A change to how quotes may be displayed across platforms could affect the compliance framework surrounding OTC dealer activity, though FINRA has not changed the rule yet.

For retail investors, the broader signal is that FINRA is reviewing older broker-dealer requirements while keeping core supervisory and investor-protection duties in place. Traders using US brokers should distinguish between a regulator approving a proposal and a rule that has taken effect.

What to watch next

Watch for the SEC filings and any public notice or comment process for the four proposals. FINRA’s regulatory policy agenda should show their status once filed.