Fintech · Industry brief

The SEC fined a broker-dealer $1.9 million in June 2026 for misreporting trading data, with the firm having submitted at least 19,000 deficient electronic blue sheets covering 51 million transactions from March 2018 to December 2023. The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Sripetch v. SEC that the Commission can seek disgorgement without proving pecuniary loss, preserving a key enforcement tool despite leaving unresolved questions about application when investor distribution is infeasible. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced a shift away from "regulation by enforcement," with the Division of Enforcement now prioritizing cases involving fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust rather than measuring success by action count or penalty size, and the agency released a Draft Strategic Plan centered on investor protection, capital formation, and market efficiency. An external review of FINRA's enforcement program recommended 24 reforms including enhanced CEO involvement, limitations periods for cases, restrictions on Rule 8210 processes, and publication of an Enforcement Manual. FINRA expelled Reid & Rudiger LLC and permanently barred its founders for Reg BI violations involving churning that generated $2 million in commissions and caused $2.7 million in customer losses across 20 accounts. FINRA also fined a correspondent broker-dealer $1.1 million for failing to report over 211 million fractional-share trades and imposed penalties on firms for deficient anti-money laundering controls, including a $210,000 fine against an options brokerage and $335,000 against an investment banking firm specializing in foreign IPOs. FINRA's Board approved four rule proposals modernizing remote inspections, supervisory obligations, continuing education requirements, and corporate financing rules as part of the FINRA Forward initiative.