Brokerage Calls Finra an ‘Unaccountable’ Wall Street Enforcer

Federal appeals court judges hearing a challenge to the regulatory powers of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority grappled with what it would mean to potentially upend what has been a familiar part of Wall Street’s enforcement landscape.

A panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington heard oral arguments Thursday in a suit against Finra brought by Alpine Securities Corp., whose lawyer, Brian Barnes, called the body an “unaccountable enforcer of federal law.”

Alpine, which was subject to a Finra hearing that found it misused client funds and jacked up fees without notice, said Finra acts like a ...