In the news: FINRA to Bankers – Up Yours!
Hot off the presses, and pretty damn pathetic, starting this November, investment bankers will be the victims of the latest FINRA attempt to seem relevant and beneficial to the system – the Series 79 exam (not in addition to, but in lieu of, the Series 7 exam, although this too may be amended by the time the exam goes into practice ). According to FINRA, the Series 79 exam, which investment bankers will be required to pass, “qualifies an individual to advise on or facilitate debt or equity offerings through a private placement or public offering or to advise or facilitate mergers or acquisitions, tender offers, financial restructurings, asset sales, divestitures or other corporate reorganizations or business combination transactions.”
The Series 79 exam will be a 5-hour, 175-question multiple choice adventure, designed to inspire the reader and illuminate your mind. In others words, be prepared to waste a bunch of time cramming for this exam, then sitting 4-5 hours to take the test, and then immediately forget the information upon earning your license (note: whether successful or not, to be fair, the test is supposedly designed to be more closely aligned with the business of banking). To add a little more spice to the mix, regulators are currently claiming that banker will only have three attempts at the exam – what happens if you are unable to pass after the 1st three time, I have no idea. Then again, how many bankers are still in the business who failed the 7 once or twice…let alone 3 times.
By comparison, the Series 79 shouldn’t be that bad – considering the joy of the Series 7 (note the sarcasm). Finally, current Series 7 holders will have 6 months to be grandfathered in, and bankers who transfer to other banks will have 2 years to amend their licensing status to avoid the Series 79 requirement.
