FINRA announced today that it has promoted Michael Solomon to Executive Vice President of Examinations and Membership Application Program, effective immediately. Solomon has taken on an expanded leadership role since rejoining FINRA in 2022 as a Senior Vice President and Head of Examinations. Solomon continues to report to Greg Ruppert, Executive Vice President, Member Supervision.
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Michael Solomon (Photo: Business Wire)
Solomon will continue to lead FINRA’s National Examination Program, which was consolidated over the past 18 months to include all exams conducted by FINRA. In that role, he is responsible for overseeing approximately 750 examiners and managers and all aspects of the program, including strategic direction and execution, operations, continuous improvement, and key internal and external relationships.
The Examinations program is a crucial component of FINRA’s regulatory operations, and FINRA staff conduct more than 1,000 examinations a year to determine compliance with FINRA’s rules, federal securities laws and regulations, and when applicable, exchanges’ rules. Member firms are examined at least once every four years and as often as annually, depending on the risk profile of the firm.
“Regular and thorough examinations are critical to maintaining strong investor protection and often uncover and remedy problems before they can harm investors,” Ruppert said. “Michael's continued leadership and experience, both as a regulator and in global financial services firms, will serve him well as he brings his vision and understanding of this evolving industry to our Examinations team and Membership Application Program.”
“I look forward to continuing to utilize a risk-based approach to our oversight and leading our talented teams dedicated to identifying and sharing emerging trends and patterns that present risks to the investing public, the broker-dealer industry and the securities markets,” Solomon said.
Solomon will also continue to oversee the Membership Application and Statutory Disqualification programs — responsibilities he took on in 2023. These programs are essential aspects of FINRA’s regulatory function and provide intelligence to other agencies and regulators overseeing the broker-dealer community.
Before rejoining FINRA in 2022, Solomon was the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Rockefeller Financial LLC. Before that, Solomon spent seven years as the Senior Vice President and Northeast Regional Director at FINRA, where he had responsibility for the Examination and Surveillance Programs in the region and oversaw a staff of 350 people.
Solomon also previously held senior legal and compliance roles at several global financial services firms, including Jefferies, UBS and Merrill Lynch. Solomon was also a trial counsel in the New York Stock Exchange Enforcement Division and began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan where he investigated and prosecuted violent street crime, narcotics trafficking, fraud and organized crime.
About FINRA
FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. FINRA regulates one critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.
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