SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations Publishes 2017 Priorities

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (the “OCIE”) has published it 2017 exam priorities.  These include (i) matters important to retail investors, (ii) risks to elderly and retiring investors and (iii) market-wide risks.  In terms of the latter, the OCIE will focus on: (i) compliance with the 2014 amendments to the money market rules; (ii) best execution for order flow; (iii) compliance of clearing agencies with Dodd-Frank and related rules; (iv) oversight of FINRA; (v) review of controls around Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity; (vi) cybersecurity; (vii) national securities exchanges; and (vii) compliance with anti-money laundering and Suspicious Activity Report rules.  The priorities are not, of course, exclusive.