Financial Industry Regulatory Authority debuts after consolidation of NASD and NYSE Member Regulation

I received this notice this morning, which I thought would be of interest:

As of this morning, NASD and the NYSE Member Regulation have officially completed the transaction necessary to consolidate member regulation operations and become FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The NASD Investor Education Foundation is now the FINRA Investor Education Foundation—but its commitment to investor education and protection remains unchanged. The Foundation will continue to award grants to fund educational programs and research aimed at segments of the investing public who could benefit from additional resources. The NASD Foundation Web site has been redirected to www.finrafoundation.org.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. All told, FINRA oversees nearly 5,100 brokerage firms, about 173,000 branch offices and more than 665,000 registered securities representatives. This consolidation means lower costs and a reduced regulatory burden for all firms, and more effective protection for the tens of millions of people who invest for their future in the U.S. capital markets. FINRA information is available at www.finra.org.