The CFTC has required Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. to pay a $2.5 million civil monetary penalty for “failing to supervise its employees’ and agents’ handling of the firm’s response to a CME Group investigation into futures block trade execution and recordkeeping practices at Bank of America.” Bank of America, N.A., or BANA,… Read More >>
Four Big Brokers Charged with Market Access Misdeeds
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and Interactive Brokers LLC have been censured and fined a total of $4.75 million for violations of various provisions of the market access regulations (rule 15c3-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) and “related exchange supervisory rules,” according to a statement by… Read More >>
CFTC Settles Wash Sales Charges Against Trader & Firm
The CFTC reports that it has simultaneously filed and settled charges against Chicago-based Rosenthal Collins Capital Markets (now known as DV Trading), and one of its former traders. RCCM is accused of “engaging in illegal wash sales in order to generate rebates of exchange fees based upon increased trading volumes,” according to the CFTC, which… Read More >>
SEC Charges Ex-Ops Head at ITG in ADR Case
The SEC reports additional charges in an enforcement investigation involving the improper handling of American depositary receipts (ADRs) by a former supervisor at broker-dealer ITG Inc.’s securities lending desk. The SEC investigation alleges that Anthony Portelli, ITG’s former managing director and head of operations, who ran ITG’s securities lending operations and was responsible for the… Read More >>
Ex-Nomura Traders Charged with Lying to Customers
The SEC has charged a pair of former head traders at Nomura Securities International with “deliberately lying to customers” to inflate the profits of the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) desk in New York and allegedly line their own pockets. The SEC alleges that James Im and Kee Chan, who ran the CMBS desk, “each misrepresented… Read More >>
Former SEC Accountant Hit with Fraud Charges
SEC officials report that they have charged David R. Humphrey, a former commission employee, with securities fraud in connection with his trading of options and other securities. At the SEC, Humphrey, a certified public accountant, was employed as a staff accountant. Later, he became branch chief in the SEC division of corporation finance. Humphrey, who… Read More >>
BarCap to Refund Clients $97M via SEC Settlement
Barclays Capital and the SEC have reached a settlement totaling more than $97 million that will require the broker-dealer to refund clients allegedly overcharged via advisory fees or mutual fund sales. During the period covered by the settlement, Barclays Capital, a subsidiary of Barclays Group US, was “a dually-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser,” and it… Read More >>
AIB Grapples with AML Fine and Pending IPO
As talk swirls around its initial public offering (IPO), Allied Irish Banks (AIB) was fined more than €2.2 million ($2. 4 million) by the Irish central bank over compliance violations relating to anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing laws. The fine is the second highest imposed by the central bank for AML after Ulster Bank’s… Read More >>
Federal Reserve Fines Deutsche Bank $156 Million
The central bank for the U.S., the Federal Reserve System, has hit troubled Deutsche Bank with $156.6 million in civil money penalties and requirements that the bank improve its senior management oversight and controls relating to foreign exchange (FX) trading. “Deutsche Bank lacked adequate governance, risk management, compliance, and audit policies and procedures to ensure… Read More >>
CFTC Fines, Bans Two Citi Traders for Spoofing
The CFTC has issued two separate but related orders settling charges against Stephen Gola and Jonathan Brims for spoofing — generally defined as “bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution” — in U.S. Treasury futures markets while trading for Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI). The actions against the… Read More >>
