The CFTC has fined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $25 million for spoofing, citing the actions of traders and managers who demonstrated a lack of proper supervision, training and regulatory compliance. Spoofing, the commission says, is “bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution.” In this case, the spoofing took… Read More >>
BlackRock Penalized for Anti-Whistleblower Separation Agreements
Asset manager BlackRock has been penalized $340,000 to settle allegations from the SEC that it forced employees who were leaving the firm to give up their rights to the proceeds from whistleblowing on violations of securities laws. “According to the SEC’s order, more than 1,000 departing BlackRock employees signed separation agreements containing violative language stating… Read More >>
ITG to Pay $24M for Alleged ADR Violations
The SEC reports that broker ITG has agreed to pay more than $24.4 million to settle charges that it “violated federal securities laws when it prompted the [pre-release] issuance of American Depository Receipts (ADRs) without possessing the underlying foreign shares.” ITG’s net revenues from the pre-release transactions during the period under SEC scrutiny totaled approximately… Read More >>
Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse Deals May Mark the End of an Era
Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse Group struck end-of-year, billion-dollar deals with the Obama administration over cases involving toxic securities and fraud allegations, perhaps signaling the end of the era of Big Settlements. As has been widely reported, Deutsche Bank agreed to a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. authorities while Credit Suisse is going to pay… Read More >>
Corzine to Pay $5M to Settle M.F. Global Mess
The M.F. Global debacle appears to be drawing to a close with a federal court’s approval of a consent order against defendant Jon S. Corzine, former CEO of M.F Global Inc. that requires him to pay a $5 million civil monetary penalty for his role in the demise of the futures commission merchant (FCM), which… Read More >>
Goldman Sachs Settles ISDAFIX Woes for $120M
Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs will pay a $120 million fine for manipulating and making false reports concerning the U.S. dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association fix (USD ISDAFIX), a global benchmark for interest rate products, say CFTC officials in an order simultaneously filing and settling charges against the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Goldman,… Read More >>
Deutsche Bank Penalized $37M for Dark Pool Woes
Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $37 million in penalties, and admit wrongdoing, to settle state and federal charges that it “misled clients about the performance of a core feature of its automated order router that primarily sent client orders to dark pools,” according to a statement from the SEC. Essentially, that misinformation about the… Read More >>
Credit Suisse Securities Fined $16.5M for AML Failures
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reports that it has fined Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC $16.5 million for “anti-money laundering (AML), supervision and other violations.” FINRA finds, specifically, that, from January 2011 through September 2013, Credit Suisse “failed to effectively review trading for AML reporting purposes.” FINRA also finds that, from January 2011 through… Read More >>
CFTC Penalizes Société Générale $450K for Software Glitch
The CFTC has issued a penalty of $450,000 against Société Générale SA over charges that the French banking giant failed to properly report non-deliverable forward transactions to a swap data repository (SDR), and failed to report many FX swap, FX forward, and non-deliverable forward transactions to an SDR. The cause of the problem was a… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Fined Over Charges of Inadequate Supervision
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reports that it has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. $6.25 million, for “inadequately supervising its customers’ use of leverage in their Merrill brokerage accounts.” In addition, the firm will pay approximately $780,000 in restitution. Merrill Lynch neither admitted nor denied the charges, FINRA says. Merrill Lynch,… Read More >>
