FINRA settled charges with a firm for (i) selling billions of unregistered microcap shares and (ii) failing to implement supervisory and/or anti-money laundering ("AML") programs that were tailored adequately to detect "red flags" for suspicious activity connected to microcap shares. FINRA also suspended and fined two of the firm's business executives. Specifically, FINRA found that the firm: did not "reasonably design" its supervisory system to satisfy its affirmative obligation to determine whether the microcap securities that it liquidated for clients were registered with the SEC or

SIFMA proposed a set of "overarching principles" that should guide future revisions and re-proposals regarding incentive-based compensation arrangements at covered financial institutions. In a comment letter, SIFMA stated that the responsibility for promulgating these revisions and re-proposals would fall on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the National Credit Union Administration, the SEC and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (collectively, the "Agencies") pursuant to Dodd-Frank Act Section 956 ("Enhanced Compensation Structure Reporting"). The

IOSCO highlighted major crowdfunding risks and urged regulators to consider measures to address them. In a survey and report issued by the Committee for the Regulation of Market Intermediaries, IOSCO stated that "crowdfunding regimes are in their infancy" and "IOSCO has not proposed a common international approach to the oversight or supervision of crowdfunding at this stage." Based on the results of its survey, IOSCO emphasized the following crowdfunding risks: Heightened financial risks: A high risk of default or failure is often associated with startup businesses. Fraud, money laundering /

Commissioner Aguilar shared his perspective on SEC regulatory developments and highlighted unfinished business that should be a priority in 2016. He offered a brief history of SEC developments since the beginning of his tenure in the "late summer of 2008." Further, he offered perspective on these events "as the only Commissioner remaining from those who were here when Lehman Brothers fell." Commissioner Aguilar recommended that the SEC address the following issues: complete the rulemakings mandated by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act; establish a better environment for the secondary trading of

FINRA announced the individuals elected or appointed by its Board of Governors to fill seats on the Small Firm Advisory Board, the National Adjudicatory Council and the District Committees. The elected and appointed individuals will begin their terms on January 1, 2016.