A new report from law firm Eversheds Sutherland analyzing the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s 2025 enforcement activity showed that while the number of cases fell significantly, the value of overall sanctions jumped—driven largely by a single, outsized penalty.
FINRA reported 431 disciplinary actions in 2025, down 22% from 552 in 2024, continuing a multi-year downward trend. At the same time, total monetary sanctions increased 77% to $154 million. That apparent contradiction comes with an important caveat.
Without that single case—a $26 million fine assessed against Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities for supervisory failures and anti-money-laundering violations—total fines in 2025 would have been 15% lower than the previous year, according to the study.
Long-Term Decline in Cases
The drop in enforcement actions continues a trend during President Donald Trump’s administration. For example, according to a from the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought 313 stand-alone enforcement actions in fiscal 2025, the lowest number in 10 years and down 27% from 2024 and 38% from 2023.
Brian Rubin, co-head of the securities enforcement practice at Eversheds Sutherland, points to several factors behind the decline. A strong stock market environment tends to produce fewer investor complaints and violations. Meanwhile, the number of broker/dealer firms has also steadily shrunk, reducing the pool of firms subject to FINRA enforcement.
Perhaps most notably, FINRA appears to be changing how it handles potential violations.
That shift suggests a regulatory philosophy that prioritizes remediation over punishment—at least in less severe cases, Rubin says.
Where FINRA Is Still Cracking Down
Even as overall case numbers decline, certain categories remained clear enforcement priorities last year.
The report identified anti-money laundering as the top area of focus by total fines levied in 2025, followed by communications violations, trade reporting and recordkeeping. Rubin says AML enforcement, in particular, remains a constant.
Regulation Best Interest—designed to protect retail investors—has also become a growing focus. FINRA brought 47 Reg BI cases in 2025, reinforcing expectations of supervision, disclosure and investor protection.
Meanwhile, amid a broader slowdown in enforcement at both the SEC and FINRA, Rubin says federal regulators might receive help from other venues to fill in the gaps.
“I think that gap will probably be filled by states,” Rubin says, noting that state regulators appear poised to bring more actions where they see enforcement needs.
Tags: FINRA