Futures Brokers Get Leeway From Watchdog on Working From Home

A U.S. futures industry regulator, moving to help Wall Street deal with the outbreak of the coronavirus, is temporarily relaxing rules that could have prevented brokers from working from home.

The National Futures Association said in a statement Friday that it won’t punish firms for violating rules that require salespeople to be monitored by on-site branch managers. The relief will allow brokers to temporarily work from locations not listed as branch offices so long as supervisory and record-keeping requirements are met.

The group said its statement was in response to inquiries about whether continuity plans being activated in response to ...