FINRA Enforcement Trends Show Higher Monetary Sanctions Despite Fewer Cases in 2025
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) increased total monetary sanctions in 2025, even as the number of enforcement actions declined. FINRA imposed $154 million in fines, restitution, and disgorgement in 2025, representing a 77 percent increase from the $87 million reported in 2024.
ThinkAdvisor also reports a continued downward trend in overall case volume. FINRA reported 431 disciplinary actions in 2025, a 22 percent decrease from the 552 actions reported in 2024.
Other notable findings include:
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) generated the highest total fines, with 17 cases resulting in approximately $6.5 million. AML enforcement has remained a consistent focus, appearing among the top categories in three of the past five years.
Misleading, Inaccurate, or Unbalanced Communications emerged as a significant enforcement area for the first time in five years. FINRA reported 12 cases in this category, totaling approximately $6.5 million in fines. Those matters often involved social media activity and communications related to crypto assets.
Trade Reporting continued as a recurring enforcement priority for the sixth consecutive year. FINRA brought 35 cases, resulting in approximately $5.9 million in fines. In the largest case, FINRA fined Goldman Sachs $1.4 million for inaccurately reporting 36.6 billion order events to the Consolidated Audit Trail and failing to reasonably supervise compliance with CAT requirements.
Record-Keeping violations accounted for 22 cases and approximately $5.1 million in fines. These actions included failures to accurately prepare financial computations and failures to maintain or review electronic communications.
Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) rounded out the top five categories. FINRA reported 47 cases, resulting in $4.3 million in fines. In one notable matter, FINRA fined Webull Financial $1.6 million for failures related to Form CRS delivery, recordkeeping, and supervisory systems designed to ensure compliance.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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