Now we take that one step from the sublime to the ridiculous. FINRA actually believes that it is somehow furthering its regulatory mission when it publishes a Regulatory Notice about FinCEN's issuance of priorities that don't change anything because nothing is actually effective. Wow -- talk about meaningful regulation! Of course, this comes from a self-regulator that proclaims: "We Play a Big Role." Indeed you do. The thing is that FINRA doesn't quite appreciate the irony of its claim. In truth, FINRA is "play" acting. Sadly, FINRA is merely hitting its marks and dryly reciting its lines in a second-rate drama amid a dwindling audience after receiving poor notices from the critics.
Sometimes you're wrong. Frankly, we're all wrong sometimes. In a recent FINRA arbitration, we have a registered representative who was wrong. To his credit, he owned up to his error. He made a mistake, as we all do. He was willing to pay for the damages he caused but apparently he was unwilling to overpay. Such is the stuff of failed settlements and the roll of the dice in litigation.
At issue in today's blog is a FINRA expungement arbitration involving a non-customer inquiry filed by UBS with FINRA as a customer complaint. Other than that, UBS did everything it was supposed to but for the fact that it did nothing it was supposed to.