Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Order Granting Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, To Amend the Codes of Arbitration Procedure To Make Various Clarifying and Technical Changes to the Codes, Including in Response to Recommendations in the Report of Independent Counsel Lowenstein Sandler LLP

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published in the Federal Register (FR) its approval of proposed rule changes requested by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) with respect to FINRA’s arbitration codes (FINRA Rule Collections 12000 and 13000 – for customer disputes and industry disputes, respectively).
To recall, FINRA proposed various changes aimed at reducing some of the obligations related to arbitration procedures and clarifying some provisions about such procedures (please see EventID 19108 in this context for more information). The changes concern(ed) the exclusion and removal of arbitrators, the holding of prehearings, notifications for such hearings, and the arbitration procedure for third party claims.
Having reviewed the proposed changes and the comments received, the SEC finds that the proposed changes are in accordance with provisions provided in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requiring FINRA to „prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, promote just and equitable principles of trade, and, in general, protect investors and the public interest“. The SEC has thus approved the changes.