FINRA published its 2026 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report on December 9, 2025 — earlier than its usual January cadence — to support member firms' annual compliance planning. The report consolidates findings from FINRA's examination, surveillance, and enforcement programs, organized by topic into Regulatory Obligations, Findings, Effective Practices, and Resources.
The headline addition is a dedicated section on Generative AI, anchored on Rule 3110 (Supervision). It identifies hallucinations and bias as core risks and, for the first time, addresses autonomous AI agents, recommending human-in-the-loop oversight and policies addressing the integrity, reliability, and accuracy of AI models.
Topic clusters include financial-crime prevention (cybersecurity and cyber-enabled fraud, AML and sanctions, and manipulative trading with emphasis on small-cap equities), firm operations (third-party and vendor risk, outside business activities, books and records, and senior investors), member firms' nexus to crypto, communications and sales (public communications, Reg BI and Form CRS, private placements, and annuities), market integrity, and financial management.
FINRA moved the report earlier in the cycle as part of its FINRA Forward goal of empowering member-firm compliance, encouraging firms to use it as a planning resource for the year ahead.