The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged auditor Ernst & Young LLP with “cheating by its audit professionals on exams required to obtain and maintain Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licenses, and for withholding evidence of this misconduct from the SEC’s Enforcement Division during the Division’s investigation of the matter.” Ernst & Young (EY) “admits the… Read More >>
UBS Broker & SEC Settle Complex Case for $25M
UBS Financial Services has agreed to pay a total of $25 million to the SEC to resolve charges that it allegedly failed to give its financial advisors adequate training or supervisory oversight in support of a complex options trading effort, the Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES), that caused surprise losses for investors. SEC officials say that… Read More >>
BlackRock Asks SEC to Streamline Climate Risk Reporting
With $10 trillion in assets under management (AUM), BlackRock is generally considered one of the world’s top asset managers. So, when it sends a comment letter about a regulatory matter, people tend to pay attention. Earlier this month, BlackRock sent its list of suggestions to the SEC about the regulator’s push for new regulation that… Read More >>
Weiss Asset Management Penalized $6.9M via SEC Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission reports that Weiss Asset Management LP, an investment advisory firm known by its acronym WAM, has agreed to pay approximately $6.9 million to settle charges that “it violated the federal securities laws when it unlawfully purchased stock in seven public offerings after selling short those same stocks.” Specifically, the WAM… Read More >>
SocGen to Revamp Derivatives Clearing & Other News
Société Générale to Deploy FIS Solution Société Générale and systems and services provider FIS report that the French banking giant will be using the FIS Cleared Derivatives Suite for a “strategic transformation of its derivatives clearing back-office.” “As part of the agreement, the investment bank and financial services group will transition their existing derivatives… Read More >>
Ad Campaign Exposes SEC’s Sense of Humor
Move over, “Jeopardy,” “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” “The Price is Right” and “Wheel of Fortune!” There’s a new game show in town and it’s backed by a well-known sheriff — the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — now with a sense of humor. Well, sort of. No one expects a barrel of laughs to… Read More >>
SIFMA Praises CAT Compliance Deadline Extension
There’s a twist in the ongoing saga of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) via a new delay that actually has the approval of a key player in the securities industry. To remind you, the CAT system is the result of SEC Rule 613, which requires U.S. securities exchanges and FINRA, the self-regulatory organization (SRO) for… Read More >>
Wells Fargo Broker-Dealer Settles AML Charges
Wells Fargo Advisors, the St. Louis, Missouri-based broker-dealer unit of the well-known stagecoach banking brand, will pay seven million dollars to settle SEC charges that it failed to “file at least 34 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in a timely manner between April 2017 and October 2021.” Those suspicious activity reports that were not filed included… Read More >>
BNY Mellon Unit & SEC Resolve ESG Omissions Case
BNY Mellon Investment Adviser (BNYMIA) is paying a $1.5 million penalty to the SEC to settle charges that it made “misstatements and omissions” about the mutual fund reviews that were intended to verify whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns were considered when investment decisions were made. As the SEC explains in its order, its… Read More >>
Allianz Unit Pays Billions in Fines via Fraud Case
Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC (AGI US) has admitted its guilt in what the SEC is calling “a massive fraudulent scheme” that hid the major risks of a complicated options trading strategy that the firm called “Structured Alpha.” The alleged scheme did not save the Structured Alpha funds, which collapsed and caused investors to lose… Read More >>
