BofA Research Publishes Crypto Primer Bank of America reports the publication of an instruction and information book entitled “Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning,” marking the start of the bank’s cryptocurrency research coverage. The bank’s head of global cryptocurrency and digital asset strategy, Alkesh Shah, led the primer’s publication, according to a BofA… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Pays $11M+ to Settle UIT Case
FINRA, the self-regulatory authority for broker-dealers, has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. $3.25 million for “failing to reasonably supervise” early unit investment trust rollovers. In addition to the fine, the firm will be paying $8.4 million in restitution to “harmed” customers. In the usual formulation, Merrill Lynch neither confirms nor denies the… Read More >>
Citi & BofA Jointly Building Fixed Income Platform
New Platform to Target CLOs, Syndicated Loans First Citi and Bank of America are collaborating on “a next generation trading, data and analytics platform” for fixed income markets that will be a more accessible, transparent, and efficient marketplace for the industry, according to bank officials. The banks hope their combined effort will yield a multi-dealer… Read More >>
BofA Pays $30M Penalty to Settle ISDAFIX Case
The U.S. CFTC has imposed a $30 million penalty against Bank of America, N.A. for alleged attempted manipulation and false reporting of the U.S. dollar ISDAFIX benchmark. The CFTC’s order, which both files and settles the charges against BofA, alleges that, beginning in January 2007 and continuing through December 2012, the bank “made false reports… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Fined $45M for Derivatives Reporting Failures
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Bank of America — Merrill Lynch (BAML) £34.5 million ($45.7 million) for failing to report derivatives transactions between 2014 and 2016. The enforcement action — which relates to 68.5 million exchange traded derivative transactions — is the first of its kind against a firm for failing to… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Settles CFTC Case of Supervisory Breaches
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 >>
Wall Street Banks Push Back on Trump Travel Ban
President Donald J. Trump’s executive order banning people traveling to and from seven countries in the Middle East has had many ripple effects across many circles, including Wall Street. Yet, while the political ramifications have been explosive, the staffing and hiring impacts may turn out to be minimal for Wall Street firms, according to key… Read More >>
BofA/Merrill Lynch Shuffles Execs in Wealth Management
BofA Names New Head of Wealth Management Bank of America reports that John Thiel, current head of Merrill Lynch wealth management, has “decided to step down from his position and will take on a new role as vice chairman of global wealth and investment management (GWIM), effective January 1, 2017.” Andy Sieg, current head of… Read More >>
Markit, ISDA Move to Settle EU Probe
Markit, the U.K. data provider, and the International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA), an industry trade group, have offered concessions in an effort to settle a European Union antitrust investigation into possible collusion in the credit default swaps (CDS) market, according to the European Commission. The Commission is seeking feedback from interested parties on the… Read More >>
U.S. Fights Back Against Iranian Hackers
The threat of cyberattacks was prominent again in the news last week as the Department of Justice via the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed grand jury indictments against seven hackers based in Iran charged with running coordinated cyber-attacks on U.S. financial services firms and securities exchanges. In fact, Justice… Read More >>
