FINRA Enforcement Chief Departing
March 18, 2010
Susan Merrill is leaving her post as executive vice president and chief of enforcement at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night on its Web site.
Merrill has not set a date for her departure, the Journal said. But the move came "after nearly three years in which the organization's disciplinary actions and fines against the brokerage industry have declined,'' according to the report.
Merrill has overall responsibility for management of the Enforcement Department and direction of investigations and litigation involving FINRA member firms for violations of federal securities laws and FINRA rules. She came to FINRA during the administration of Mary L. Schapiro, now chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Merrill was Chief of Enforcement at the New York Stock Exchange from 2004 to 2007. When NYSE Member Regulation consolidated with NASD to form FINRA in 2007, Ms. Merrill began serving in her current role.
Prior to joining NYSE, Ms. Merrill was a partner at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Her departure leaves Finra looking for an enforcement chief who can bolster its reputation and bring more cases, the Journal said.
In 2008, amid the crisis, Finra often filed cases against small players. Along the way, regulators, including Finra, failed to stop a number of abuses that led to the financial crisis and didn't uncover the Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff.
During the past few years, disciplinary actions filed dropped, to 1,158 cases in 2009 from 1,399 in 2005, by the Journal's accounting.
Finra levied fines against financial firms totaling $25.9 million in 2008, according to Finra, and $50 million in 2009. Fines levied by Finra or one of its predecessor agencies declined for three years before 2009. The predecessor organization collected $148.5 million in fines in 2005.
