Section 130.280  Definition of the Term "Branch Office" of a Registered Dealer, as Used in Section 8 of the Act

a)         A "branch office" is any location where one or more associated persons of a registered dealer regularly conduct the business of effecting any transactions in, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of, any security, or is held out as such, excluding:

1)         Any location that is established solely for customer service and/or back office type functions where no sales activities are conducted and that is not held out to the public as a branch office;

2)         Any location that is the associated person's primary residence; provided that:

A)        Only one associated person or multiple associated persons who reside at that location and are members of the same immediate family, conduct business at the location;

B)        The location is not held out to the public as an office and the associated person does not meet with customers at the location;

C)        Neither customer funds nor securities are handled at that location;

D)        The associated person is assigned to a designated branch office, and that designated branch office is reflected on all business cards, stationery, advertisements and other communications to the public by the associated person;

E)        The associated person's correspondence and communications with the public are subject to the firm's supervision in accordance with FINRA Rule 3010;

F)         Electronic communications are made through the registered dealer's electronic system;

G)        All orders are entered through the designated branch office or an electronic system established by the registered dealer that is reviewable at the branch office;

H)        Written supervisory procedures pertaining to supervision of sales activities conducted at the residence are maintained by the registered dealer; and

I)         A list of the residence locations is maintained by the registered dealer;

3)         Any location, other than a primary residence, that is used for securities business for less than 30 business days in any one calendar year, provided the registered dealer complies with the provisions of subsections (a)(2)(A) through (H);

4)         Any office of convenience, where associated persons occasionally and exclusively by appointment meet with customers, that is not held out to the public as an office.  If the office of convenience is located on bank premises, signage necessary to comply with applicable federal and State laws, rules and regulations and applicable rules and regulations of the NYSE, other self-regulatory organizations, and securities and banking regulations may be displayed and shall not be deemed "holding out" for purposes of this Section;

5)         Any location that is used primarily to engage in non-securities activities and from which the associated persons effects no more than 25 securities transactions in any one calendar year; provided that any advertisement or sales literature identifying the location also sets forth the address and telephone number of the location from which the associated persons conducting business at the non-branch locations are directly supervised;

6)         The Floor of a registered national securities exchange where a registered dealer conducts a direct access business with public customers; or

7)         A temporary location established in response to the implementation of a business continuity plan.

b)         Notwithstanding the exclusions provided in subsection (a), any location that is responsible for supervising the activities of persons associated with the registered dealer at one or more non-branch locations of the registered dealer is considered to be a branch office.

c)         The term "business day", as used in this Section, shall not include any partial business day provided that the associated person spends at least four hours on the business day at his or her designated branch office during the hours that the office is normally open for business.

(Source:  Amended at 36 Ill. Reg. 2852, effective February 8, 2012)