Wall Street brokerages' use of mandatory arbitration clauses merits a regulatory review, but the Securities and Exchange Commission will not have time to undertake one before 2014, an SEC commissioner said on Monday. The agency will wrap up other priorities before looking at whether firms can require customers to settle legal disputes through arbitration, Commissioner Elisse Walter said. Those other priorities include rules required by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the JOBS Act, as well as money market fund reform. "I personally do think it's something to take a hard look at," Walter said during the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) annual conference in Washington. "I don't know when the commission will find time to do this," Walter said. When brokerage customers open new accounts, they typically are required to sign contracts agreeing to resolve potential legal disputes with their firms in FINRA's arbitration unit instead of court.
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