Emergency planning for broker/dealers may get a bit easier with the Small Firm Emergency Partner Program announced October 11 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The program encourages small firms to select a partner that's located far away and who clears through the same clearing firm, and agree to assist each other if there is a business disruption in either locale. "Should a significant business disruption occur, a firm can rely on a pre-established partner firm, unaffected by the event, to step in temporarily and help its customers. The partner firms' common clearing firm would give the support firm access to the impaired firm's customer information until the impaired firm recovers," FINRA CEO Mary Schapiro says in the announcement. FINRA collaborated with the North American North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and a working group of executives from major clearing firms to develop the voluntary program.
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