Brokers have made 354 requests so far in 2012 to expunge information such as details of customer arbitration complaints from records that investors and securities firms use to research brokers' professional histories. During the entire year last year, 2011, the number was 372 expungement requests as stated in a recent Rueters article.
According to the North American Securities Administrators Association or NASAA, brokers' expungement requests so far this year have nearly tripled from the 126 total requests made in 2008. This increase corresponds with a surge in arbitration cases filed against brokerages due to losses in the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
There were 7,000 arbitration cases 2009, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA. The FINRA rules require the disclosure of arbitration complaints on brokers' records if the brokers are involved in the transaction, even if they are not named personally in the case.
The Reuters article goes on to say that after the cases are settled some brokers consider requesting removing the complaints from their records. That involves another type of FINRA arbitration. Arbitrators must apply FINRA's standards for recommending an expungement. But brokers who are successful do not always then obtain a court order to finalize the expungement, a necessary final step in the process.
The 354 expungement requests this year represent only a small fraction of customer arbitration cases which were resolved following the financial crisis. They settled 9,100 arbitration claims between 2010 and July 2012, while arbitrators decided 2,770 cases during the same period, according to FINRA statistics.
Securities Lawyer, Lars K. Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, PLLC, represents clients nationwide in arbitrations before FINRA. Call to speak to an attorney regarding your investment losses. For a free consultation on how to potentially recover those losses call: 888-760-6552, or you may visit our website at: https://www.securitieslawyer.com.
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