The Securities Compliance Podcast Season 2 Episode 10 -  Lessons From The Front Lines - Thoughts on Crypto From the SEC and FINRA

Podcast

Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context

On Episode 10 of Season 2 of the Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context, host Patrick D. Hayes talks with Neil Maitra and Haime Workie. Whether it’s issues in AI, the cloud, custody, DEPs, crypto, gamification, and everything in between, the SEC’s FinHub and FINRA’s Office of Financial Innovation sit at the forefront of what’s happening in our industry. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the crypto conversation!

Interview 

• Background on FINRA’s Office of Financial Innovation

• Discussion of recent whitepapers from FINRA OFI

• Artificial intelligence (AI) in the securities industry

• What are the implications of the cloud for the securities industry

• Background on SEC’s FinHub

• Digital assets and custody

• Breaking down Bitcoin ETPs

• An in-depth look at gamification

Quotes

“Our Office of Financial Innovation was actually only opened up about two and a half years ago. And its overarching mandate is really to facilitate innovation in a way that supports investor protection and market integrity, which is the overall mandate of FINRA.” – Haime Workie  

“So this idea of being excited about something new that you’re doing, that carries a bit of risk. But also having the ability to step back a little bit and say, ‘Look, you know, here are things we need to think about before we take on this new adventure.’ In a similar vein, as technology gets introduced to the marketplace, there’s a lot of excitement to be had about the potential ways it can benefit the investor, the firm, the marketplace. But it’s also important to step back and think about what are the risks that are being introduced into the system? And what are the implications of those?” – Haime Workie 

“[I]t's [SEC’s FinHub is] really kind of an all-arms group within the Commission itself...it really coordinates the SEC oversight and response regarding emerging technologies and financial regulatory and supervisory systems. Including specifically I think in the areas of distributed ledger technology. blockchain which forms are large part of our work, but also automated investment advice or what what's popularly called robo-advice digital marketplace financing and artificial intelligence machine learning. Those are also areas where we where we often get involved.” – Neel Maitra

“But what's been really introduced I would say, and it's fairly recent introduction in the past four or five years and kind of ramping up in the in the past one or two years, is this process where you have these app-based systems that provide nudges or provide influences that potentially steer investors a certain way. Many of these nudges or influences maybe things that are short of recommendations. But at least in my view, they are definitely designed to elicit certain types of behaviors and what we've heard is frequently firms will do A-B type of testing to see what type of behaviors are being elicited and which things, which ways of kind of having the APP interface is more effective in terms of eliciting those types of behaviors.” – Neel Maitra

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About the Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context

Introducing the Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context presented by Calfee, Halter & Griswold and the National Society of Compliance Professionals and hosted by Patrick D. Hayes, Senior Counsel and leader of Calfee's Investment Management practice.

Designed as a personal master class for the securities legal and compliance professional, this podcast embodies Patrick’s passion to help you put Compliance In Context™ by combining the technical expertise of industry thought leaders and innovators with the practical experience of doers and key decision makers.

Listeners will find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify and Stitcher.

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The opinions expressed by guest speakers and panelists during Securities Compliance Podcasts may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the attorneys and professionals of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Calfee’s educational content is intended to inform and educate readers about legal developments and is not intended as legal advice for any specific individual or specific situation. Please consult with your attorney regarding any legal questions you may have. With regard to all content including case studies or descriptions, past outcomes do not predict future results.