FINRA Defends Self-Regulatory Model as Dating to Founding of US

Congress’s ability to delegate aspects of governmental authority to private organizations is constitutional and deeply rooted in the nation’s history, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. argued in a brief to the D.C. Circuit Friday.

The theory advanced by challenger Alpine Securities Corp. “threatens to cripple not just FINRA, but also dozens of other self-regulatory organizations that oversee the capital markets and other aspects of the American economy,” the authority said. Alpine’s theory would also affect “a host of other longstanding congressional practices,” it said.

Alpine is seeking reversal of a lower court ruling permitting FINRA to continue with an ...