Richard G. Ketchum, the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, said in an interview on Tuesday that he would ramp up scrutiny of high-speed trading and a batch of complex products. Finra, Mr. Ketchum said, would take aim at so-called leveraged loans and collateralized loan obligations, along with the potential conflicts that brokerage firms face in pitching their own investments over rivals’ products.
The expanded focus comes as Finra announced on Tuesday that it filed more than 1,500 enforcement actions against financial firms and brokers in 2012, an all-time record for the regulator. Finra, which barred nearly 300 people from the industry, levied more than $100 million in penalties.