Broker watchdog to get new name

A name chosen to represent the merger of two major U.S. brokerage watchdogs will be changed because the acronym may be considered offensive because of its similarity to an Arabic term.

The Securities Industry Regulatory Authority, or SIRA, was the name that had been announced to represent the combined self-regulation of the NASD and NYSE Group.

SIRA, which will be the regulator for all securities brokers and dealers doing business with the public in the United States, is now considering the name Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA.

When NASD Chairwoman Mary Schapiro announced the name SIRA at a luncheon in June, she was not aware that it “could create confusion or be considered offensive because of its similarity to an Arabic term used to refer to the traditional biographies of Muhammad,” she wrote in a note to employees of the NASD, formerly known as the National Assn. of Securities Dealers.