FINRA sanctioned Arcadia Securities for conducting a securities business on three days while failing to maintain minimum net capital and for supervision failures spanning 18 months, while the Federal Reserve issued enforcement actions against former employees of Equity Bank and First State Bank of Dongola — headlining 145 events tracked across all verticals on Thursday.
Arcadia's Net Capital Violations
FINRA found that between October 2023 and February 2024, Arcadia conducted securities business on three days while failing to maintain the required minimum net capital, in violation of Section 15(c)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1, and FINRA Rules 4110(b)(1) and 2010, according to case 2025083700301.
The net capital rule is the foundational financial safeguard for broker-dealers — it ensures firms maintain sufficient liquid assets to meet their obligations to customers and counterparties. Trading while below minimum net capital is among the most serious financial violations a broker-dealer can commit because it means the firm was operating without adequate financial cushion to protect customer assets.
FINRA also found that from October 2023 to March 2025, Arcadia failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system reasonably designed to achieve compliance with net capital requirements. The 18-month duration of the supervisory failure — extending well beyond the trading violations themselves — indicates that the firm lacked the internal controls needed to monitor its own financial condition.
Fed Targets Equity Bank and First State Bank Employees
The Federal Reserve Board issued enforcement actions against a former employee of Equity Bank and a former employee of First State Bank of Dongola. The Equity Bank action follows the prohibition order issued against Cassandra Grayson at the same institution on March 9 for misappropriation of customer funds, suggesting the Fed is pursuing multiple individuals connected to misconduct at the Andover, Kansas-based bank.
The First State Bank of Dongola action targets a separate individual at the small Illinois community bank. Fed enforcement against employees of community banks indicates that the agency's supervisory net extends beyond the largest institutions to smaller banks where misconduct may have less visibility.
CFTC Issues Enforcement Action
The CFTC issued a separate enforcement action, continuing the agency's active posture under Chairman Selig's leadership. The CFTC has now taken multiple enforcement and regulatory actions throughout March, including fraud cases, leadership appointments, and the prediction markets rulemaking.
OCC: Five Branch Openings, Three Closings
The OCC approved five branch establishments — the most in a single day this month — while processing three branch closings and one corporate action. One new bank charter was also processed. The net positive branch activity of two represents one of the few days in March where openings exceeded closings, suggesting a brief uptick in physical expansion.
14 RIA Graduations and 14 Advisor Moves
Fourteen advisory firms completed their SEC registration, maintaining the steady mid-March pace. One firm failed the 120-day process. Fourteen advisors changed firm affiliations, and 14 disclosure events were recorded — a notable symmetry across all three RIA activity metrics.
Nine Executive Departures Lead BD Turnover
Nine executive departures were filed across broker-dealers — the highest single-day departure count this month. Combined with 13 personnel changes, eight role changes, and four new hires, the net outflow of leadership at the BD level reflects ongoing competitive pressure from the RIA channel and broader industry consolidation.
Across the Wire
Twenty-six FOCUS reports were filed with the SEC alongside two amendments. Eight registration changes, two address changes, and two FINRA regulatory notices were processed. The CAT system issued one announcement, the FTC published one notice, and vendor activity saw two removals and one addition.
All data sourced from FINRA Disciplinary Actions, Federal Reserve, CFTC, OCC, SEC EDGAR, and the Finleet Terminal as of March 13, 2026. Entity profiles are available at terminal.finleet.com.