FINRA today released a comprehensive progress report summarizing the significant operational and regulatory changes FINRA has made in the first year of its ongoing FINRA360 organizational review.

“The first year of FINRA360 is already resulting in significant change across the organization,” FINRA CEO Robert Cook wrote in the report. “We have placed particular emphasis on changes that benefit investors, promote compliance, address duplicate operations, enhance transparency, foster engagement, or improve our day-to-day supervisory interactions with firms.”

Major actions to date include:

• integrating two Enforcement programs into a single unified structure;
• releasing an Examinations Findings Report detailing FINRA’s observations from the prior year’s examinations;
• publishing a summary of FINRA’s 2018 budget and financial guiding principles;
• launching a Small Firm Helpline to address routine questions about FINRA;
• creating an Innovation Outreach Initiative to address the growing activity in FinTech, cryptocurrencies and related issues;
• increasing funding for training of examiners and regulatory coordinators;
• updating the activities of FINRA’s advisory and governance committees and enhancing transparency regarding what they do and how interested parties can get involved; and
• further advancing FINRA’s risk-based approach to examinations and implementing certain process improvements in how FINRA interacts with member firms in the exam context.