Finra hit with age discrimination suit: Report

A former district director of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.'s New York City office has filed an age discrimination suit against the regulator, according to a Reuters report . Hans Reich, 66, alleges that he was terminated from Finra at the end of March and replaced with a younger acting director, the report said. Finra may be cleaning house in the wake of industry scandals, said attorney Bill Singer, a partner at Gusrae Kaplan Bruno & Nusbaum PLLC, who worked for Mr. Reich in the 1980s at the Smith Barney Harris Upham firm, where Mr. Reich was director of compliance. "They're getting tremendous heat after the failures with Madoff" and others, said Mr. Singer, who said he has not spoken to Mr. Reich about the suit. The claim was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, according to Reuters. A copy of the lawsuit was not available from the federal court system database or from a clerk at the court. Finra spokeswoman Michelle Ong would not comment nor confirm the suit had been filed.