Is FINRA Under External Influence?

Scrutinising the Trevor Saliba Case

Is FINRA under external influence? This question, once speculative, now resonates with uncomfortable weight following the controversial regulatory treatment of Trevor Saliba, founder of NMS Capital Group. His experience with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) exposes potentially serious fractures in the structure of financial oversight—fractures that suggest bias, inconsistency, or worse.

A Disputed Process and Inconsistent Sanctions

Saliba’s regulatory entanglement began shortly after his firm acquired a brokerage firm already registered with FINRA. Soon thereafter, he was subjected to restrictions allegedly stemming from an informal SEC inquiry unrelated to that acquisition. According to Saliba, FINRA refused to clarify the basis for its actions—even in response to formal requests—leaving him to navigate a regulatory maze without a clear map.

When Saliba submitted documents, including authorisations signed by the company’s then-CEO, FINRA rejected them as forged. This conclusion leaned heavily on testimony from a former employee, whose statements appear inconsistent when compared with internal records. This selective reliance raises important questions about the credibility standards applied by the regulator.

More troubling still is the disparity between this case and others. Firms such as Merrimac Corporate Securities, despite admitting to compliance violations, faced relatively mild sanctions. Saliba, in contrast, was permanently barred. The contrast is difficult to explain through procedural rationale alone.

Hidden Pressures or Systemic Vulnerabilities?

Could FINRA’s decisions have been influenced, directly or indirectly, by forces outside its formal structure—competitors, adversaries, or other stakeholders with an interest in the outcome? There is no direct evidence of undue influence, yet the procedural opacity and contradictory judgments demand deeper scrutiny.

A regulator’s power rests not only on its authority but on the perception of its impartiality. In this case, that perception appears to have eroded. FINRA must account not just for the decisions made, but for how—and why—they were made. Failure to do so risks undermining confidence in regulatory governance across the financial services industry.

Until this case is conclusively explained, the suspicion that FINRA may have acted under external influence will remain a shadow over its credibility. For the health of the system, that shadow must be addressed—not ignored.