03:29 PM
COMPLIANCE NEWSFLASHES
SEC Approves New CEO Compliance Certification and CCO Designation Requirements
The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) recently announced the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of NASD Rule 3013. The new rule was created to reinforce attention to members' compliance programs by requiring significant communication between business and compliance officers throughout the firm. It requires members to "designate a chief compliance officer (CCO) and have the chief executive officer (CEO) or equivalent officer certify annually that the member has in place processes to establish, maintain, review, test and modify written compliance policies and written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable NASD rules, MSRB rules, and federal securities laws and regulations." Members must identify the chosen CCO to NASD by Dec.1, 2004. The CEO certification must be executed within a year of the aforementioned date, and then annually thereafter. See www.nasd.com for further information.