FINRA Appoints Four New Board Governors

FINRA announced the appointment of four new Governors to its Board of Governors: Rostin Behnam (former CFTC Chairman), Tim Carter (former Piper Sandler CFO), Dan Gallagher (Robinhood CLO and former SEC Commissioner), and Heather Traeger (General Counsel at Texas Teacher Retirement System). The new governors bring diverse expertise in financial services, regulation, industry leadership, and public pension management to FINRA's 22-member Board.

FINRA Orders American Portfolios Financial Services to Pay $4.6M Restitution

FINRA ordered American Portfolios Financial Services to pay $4.6 million in restitution to approximately 85,000 customers affected by overcollection of fees and retention of undisclosed surplus interest in its bank deposit program between April 2018 and September 2022. The firm collected more than $3 million in aggregate fees beyond what its disclosed formula would have yielded, retained approximately $1.25 million in surplus interest, and was fined $550,000 for violations of FINRA and SEC rules.

FINRA Board approves five rule proposals under modernization initiative

FINRA's Board of Governors approved five rule proposals on March 4-5, 2026, as part of the FINRA Forward rule modernization initiative. The proposals address shortened exam waiting periods, electronic delivery of regulatory requests via FINRA Gateway, streamlined allocation approval requirements, alternative investment reconciliation adjustments, and arbitration procedure enhancements including arbitrator replacement processes.

FINRA Foundation Research on Social Media Investors and Fraud Risk

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation released research examining retail investors who use social media and follow finfluencers. The study, based on the 2024 National Financial Capability Study, found that social media is successfully engaging younger and previously underrepresented investors, but these investors exhibit elevated fraud risk. Among social media users targeted for fraud, 68-69% lost money versus 26-29% for non-users, despite answering only 42% of investment knowledge questions correctly while 63% rated their knowledge as high.

FINRA Launches Financial Intelligence Fusion Center for Cybersecurity Threat Sharing

FINRA announced the launch of the Financial Intelligence Fusion Center (FIFC), a secure portal for member firms to share cybersecurity and fraud threat intelligence and coordinate responses. The portal was piloted with a diverse group of member firms and is now available for all member firms to opt into. The initiative expands FINRA's existing resources for cybersecurity guidance and is part of the FINRA Forward program.

FCC Suspends Seven Convicted Criminals from Universal Service Fund Programs

The FCC Enforcement Bureau has suspended seven individuals with criminal convictions from participating in Universal Service Fund programs. The named individuals—Donatus Anyanwu, Shawn Clemmons, Kenneth Collura, John Comito, Charles Jones, Mark Whitaker, and Donna Woods—are barred from receiving USF funds through the Rural Health Care, E-Rate, and Lifeline programs. These enforcement actions follow criminal convictions and prohibit program participation.

South Africa Exits FATF Greylist After 32 Months

The FATF removed South Africa from its greylist on October 24, 2025, ending 32 months of increased monitoring that began in February 2023. South Africa completed all 22 Action Plan items, culminating in a successful on-site evaluation in July 2025. Going forward, South Africa must sustain its AML/CFT improvements and prepare for a mutual evaluation expected in the first half of 2026.

General Laws Amendment Bill 2025 - Public Comment on AML/CFT Reforms

South Africa's National Treasury has published the draft General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill, 2025 for public comment through Government Gazette No. 53955. The Bill proposes amendments to four pieces of legislation including the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, Financial Sector Regulation Act, Companies Act, and Nonprofit Organisations Act to address AML/CFT deficiencies identified in the 2021 FATF Mutual Evaluation Report. Public comments are due 13 February 2026.

South Africa Exits FATF Grey List After 32 Months

The Financial Intelligence Centre announced South Africa's removal from the FATF grey list on 24 October 2025, ending 32 months of increased monitoring that began in February 2023. The removal follows successful remediation of deficiencies identified in the 2019 mutual evaluation, including enhanced DNFBP supervision capabilities and improved law enforcement collaboration. South Africa now prepares for its fifth round of mutual evaluations scheduled for 2026 to 2027.

FIC 2024-25 Annual Report: Grey List Progress and Clean Audit

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) released its 2024-25 annual report demonstrating continued progress in combating financial crime in South Africa. The report highlights that 55,262 registered institutions submitted over 13.4 million regulatory reports, contributing to approximately R144 million in recovered criminal proceeds. A FATF review team completed an on-site assessment in July 2025 to verify AML/CFT reforms, with a decision on South Africa's potential grey list exit expected at the October 2025 FATF plenary.