The FINRA Board of Governors met last week and authorized the staff to act on several rule amendments pertaining to arbitration, OATS and other issues.  Here's what the Board authorized: Rule Revision:  Arbitration Claims Involving Fair Labor Standards Act. The Board authorized staff to propose amending Rule 13204 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Disputes so that collective action claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act would be restricted from being arbitrated under the Industry Code.  Why? This had always been FINRA's interpretive position, and the rule change would respond to an adverse court decision.  Seek Out Comments:  DPP/REIT Account Values. The Board authorized staff to issue a Regulatory Notice requesting comment on a proposal to amend the rule governing customer account statements, as it pertains to the manner in which B/D's report estimated per share values of nontraded REITS and direct participation programs to their customers.  FINRA is proposing that:  (i) par value, if shown, must be netted by up-front fees and expenses that are deducted from the offering proceeds;  (ii) B/D's would be permitted to use par value only under the initial offering period - and not during a second offering period;  and, (iii) B/D must remove the estimated per share value from its account statements if it has reason to believe that figure, as presented in the annual report, is inaccurate. Rule Revision:  Identifying Information Barriers in OATS.   The Board authorized staff to proposed amending FINRA Rule 5320.02 so as to require member firms that rely on the "No-Knowledge Exception" to identify information barriers in place in their reports to OATS.  Why? This additional information will allow FINRA to avoid making numerous information requests, which, today, impose significant resource burdens on FINRA and member firms. Seek Out Comments:   Representing Customer Interest.   The Board authorized staff to issue a Regulatory Notice requesting comment on a proposal to amend FINRA Rule 5210.  As proposed, a member firm must have a customer order in hand before it labels a quotation or IOI in any way that indicates the quotation or IOI represents interest the member is displaying as agent on behalf of a customer.  As proposed, a member could not continue to display such a quotation or IOI as representing a customer order once the customer order was executed or cancelled.  FINRA also would modernize the application of the rule by broadening rule text to include IOIs, and conforming application of the rule text to the restrictions in the rule's Supplementary Material. For further details, go to:   [FINRA July Meeting, 7/15/11]