[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

FINRA is starting the year with a bang.  Going forward, chairman and CEO Richard "Rick" Ketchum" said the regulator will increase scrutiny of high-speed trading as well as a batch of complex products.  Within FINRA's sights are so-called leveraged loans and collateralized loan obligations, in addition potential conflicts that brokerage firms face in pitching their own investments over rivals’ products.  FINRA added it would "pursue potential cross-market abuses and refine its surveillance patterns based on new threat scenarios and regulatory intelligence."

To date, FINRA has filed more than 1,500 enforcement actions against financial firms and brokers in 2012, an all-time record for the regulator.  All told, the regulator, which monitors 600,000-plus stockbrokers, has barred nearly 300 people from the industry and levied more than $100 million in penalties.  Last year, FINRA sanctioned Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and UBS, among others, for improper sales tactics;  for its part, Goldman Sachs paid an $11 million fine for failing to keep an eye on its research analysts.

"It’s nice to see an upward trajectory." -- Mr. Ketchum, in a statement.

For further details, go to [Dealbook, 1/8/13].