FINRA is standing firm on its demand that failed broker-dealer CapWest pay $9 million in damages and fees, even though regulators confess that they are "not particularly hopeful."

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CapWest shut down in September with the fines still hanging over its balance sheet.

But its failure cast a big shadow over the Rocky Mountain investor community, which had been stung by the firm's sales of the bad private securities that led several competitors to close and almost doomed Securities America.

FINRA hopes that pursuing the matter will at least uncover some hidden assets to pay the clients.

Nonetheless, when you consider that CapWest almost settled the case for $100,000 and then couldn't come up with the money to pay even that sum, the odds aren't good.