On February 16, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a proposed rule change to delay the implementation date of new FINRA Rule 2242 (Debt Research Analysts and Debt Research Reports) until April 22, 2016. FINRA Rule 2242 had been scheduled to be implemented on February 22, 2016.

FINRA filed the proposed rule change for immediate effectiveness, and requested that the SEC waive the requirement that the proposal not become operative for 30 days after the date of the filing so that the proposal could become operative before the scheduled effective date of Rule 2242 on February 22, 2016. On February 17, 2016, the SEC granted FINRA's request.

FINRA's decision to extend the implementation date came in response to industry questions regarding implementation of the requirements of Rule 2242.

To learn more about FINRA Rule 2242, see Practice Note, Debt Research and Debt Research Analysts.