Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) A "branch
office" is any location where one or more associated persons of a registered
dealer regularly conduct the business of effecting any transactions in, or
inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of, any security, or is
held out as such, excluding:
1) Any location
that is established solely for customer service and/or back office type
functions where no sales activities are conducted and that is not held out to
the public as a branch office;
2)
Any location that is the associated person's primary residence; provided that:
A) Only one associated person or multiple
associated persons who reside at that location and are members of the same
immediate family, conduct business at the location;
B) The location is not held out to the public
as an office and the associated person does not meet with customers at the
location;
C) Neither customer funds
nor securities are handled at that location;
D) The associated person is assigned to a
designated branch office, and that designated branch office is reflected on all
business cards, stationery, advertisements and other communications to the
public by the associated person;
E)
The associated person's correspondence and communications with the public are
subject to the firm's supervision in accordance with FINRA Rule 3010;
F) Electronic communications are made through
the registered dealer's electronic system;
G) All orders are entered through the
designated branch office or an electronic system established by the registered
dealer that is reviewable at the branch office;
H) Written supervisory procedures pertaining
to supervision of sales activities conducted at the residence are maintained by
the registered dealer; and
I) A
list of the residence locations is maintained by the registered
dealer;
3) Any location,
other than a primary residence, that is used for securities business for less
than 30 business days in any one calendar year, provided the registered dealer
complies with the provisions of subsections (a)(2)(A) through (H);
4) Any office of convenience, where
associated persons occasionally and exclusively by appointment meet with
customers, that is not held out to the public as an office. If the office of
convenience is located on bank premises, signage necessary to comply with
applicable federal and State laws, rules and regulations and applicable rules
and regulations of the NYSE, other self-regulatory organizations, and
securities and banking regulations may be displayed and shall not be deemed
"holding out" for purposes of this Section;
5) Any location that is used primarily to
engage in non-securities activities and from which the associated persons
effects no more than 25 securities transactions in any one calendar year;
provided that any advertisement or sales literature identifying the location
also sets forth the address and telephone number of the location from which the
associated persons conducting business at the non-branch locations are directly
supervised;
6) The Floor of a
registered national securities exchange where a registered dealer conducts a
direct access business with public customers; or
7) A temporary location established in
response to the implementation of a business continuity plan.
b) Notwithstanding the exclusions
provided in subsection (a), any location that is responsible for supervising
the activities of persons associated with the registered dealer at one or more
non-branch locations of the registered dealer is considered to be a branch
office.
c) The term "business day",
as used in this Section, shall not include any partial business day provided
that the associated person spends at least four hours on the business day at
his or her designated branch office during the hours that the office is
normally open for business.