Finra extends remote inspections through 2023

The regulator wants to provide relief from in-person supervision until the SEC rules on a pilot program for online oversight.

Finra will allow brokerages to conduct online supervision of branch offices into next year while the SEC mulls a Finra proposal for a remote-inspection pilot program.

On Monday, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to continue remote inspections through the end of 2023 or until the SEC approves the pilot idea. The temporary rule allowing remote inspections was set to expire in December.

“The proposed extension … would alleviate the ongoing operational challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that many member firms may continue to face in planning for and timely conducting the on-site inspection component of [the supervision rule] at locations requiring inspection in calendar year 2023,” the Finra proposal states.

The proposal was filed with immediate effectiveness, which means that it will go into effect on Jan. 1 unless the SEC objects. The SEC must approve Finra rule proposals.

Earlier this year, Finra filed with the SEC a proposal to establish a three-year remote-inspections pilot program. It’s unclear when the SEC will rule on the pilot measure, which prompted Finra on Monday to extend temporary relief from in-person inspections.

“Given the potential length of that review period, and the pilot program’s significant planning requirements and varying limitations applicable to specific firms and office locations, Finra believes that firms that intend to participate in the pilot program, if approved, will need a significant number of months to prepare appropriately for the pilot program,” the Finra proposal states. “Moreover, further Finra guidance may be needed to guide implementation in various circumstances.”

The pilot program effectively would be a step toward making permanent the online supervision that Finra has allowed since November 2020 in response to the pandemic. Finra eased in-person office inspection requirements in light of social distancing during the pandemic that caused most brokerages to switch to remote operations.

AdvisorHub first reported the remote-inspection extension.