In an effort to reduce costs for firms and make it easier to satisfy their reporting and compliance obligations, FINRA announced June 14 the details of a multi-phased effort to overhaul its registration and disclosure programs, including its Central Registration Depository (CRD).
A new WebCRD interface that highlights important information or activities requiring immediate attention of firms, branches and individuals will become available for all firms on June 30. As part of this rollout, FINRA will systematically entitle users and administrators who have access to all CRD Queues to the first set of new CRD features: Activities, Reports and My Quick Links.
FINRA expects to complete the project by 2021.
“This important initiative will strengthen an essential function of the securities industry,” FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook said in a statement. “The transformation will allow FINRA to develop systems that help firms effectively maintain compliance programs and reduce compliance costs, while continuing to operate and enhance BrokerCheck as an essential tool for investors.”
According to a summary, the redeveloped registration systems will facilitate more efficient interaction for users and leverage information from other FINRA regulatory programs, resulting in a more accurate and complete set of information about registered individuals, branches and firms.
Other near-term enhancements include overhauling functionality for firm staff to review information about an individual, branch or firm, as well as implementing an automated feature for notifying registered representatives when a new Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) is available for review.
Over the long term, FINRA plans to revamp the process for completing required submissions, including by:
- allowing paperless information updates without requiring full form submissions;
- expanding the ability for firms to delegate work and collaborate with registered staff, introducing e-signature functionality; and
- developing capabilities for bulk transactions (g., filings that impact many individuals and firms).
FINRA also plans to include as part of the system transformation customized reporting options for users.
