The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) launched a Small Firm Helpline this week to assist firms with questions about regulatory matters.
The toll-free helpline will be manned by FINRA employees from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, to answer general and routine questions. For more difficult questions, callers will be directed to the proper regulatory staff and other departments. The Small Firm Helpline number is (833) 26-FINRA or (833) 263-4672.
“One of the real benefits of our role as a self-regulatory organization is our ability to provide firms with the tools and resources to help them comply with regulations – and this new resource is aimed squarely at doing that,” FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook said. “The Helpline will serve as the clearinghouse for more routine calls and general information, which will make it faster and easier for small firms to get answers, and will free up other critical FINRA resources to help firms with more substantive matters such as examinations, financial questions, the implementation of rules and licensing requirements.”
About 3,400 small firms are registered with FINRA.
In the coming months, FINRA also plans to launch periodic conference calls to provide an additional forum for small broker-dealers to hear directly from senior FINRA staff regarding regulatory developments, potential areas for compliance focus, and compliance tools or resources.