Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Extend the Implementation Date of Certain Amendments to FINRA Rule 4210 Approved Pursuant to SR-FINRA-2015-036

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published in the Federal Register requested rule changes of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for public comment. As described in the publication, FINRA proposes (proposed) to amend FINRA Rule 4210 to extend the implementation date of margin requirements on the following security transactions:
(a) To Be Announced (TBA) transactions;
(b) Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) transactions:
(c) Specified Pool Transactions; and
(d) Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs).
It is important to note that this extension does not affect the risk limit determination obligations of broker-dealers which have already been implemented late 2016 and which were initially part of the same rule change request. The risk limit determination requires members to maintain a written risk analysis methodology for assessing the amount of credit extended to (margin) exempt accounts.
Due to the fact that FINRA has designated the proposed rule change as constituting a “non-controversial” rule change and as the SEC found that the change did not „significantly affect the protection of investors or the public interest, impose any significant burden on competition; and become operative for 30 days from the date on which it was filed […], it has become effective“ upon filing with the SEC. Nonetheless, the SEC is required to seek comments on the change.