Shortly before the Trump administration came to power on January 20, the SEC and CFTC settled with some major industry players such as Citadel Securities, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and J.P. Morgan Securities (JPMS). The violations ranged from charges of misleading statements about trade orders to billing and supervisory failures. Some of the penalties paid… Read More >>
Trump Should Keep the SEC’s Whistleblower Program
As the Trump Team begins to focus on the regulators for the securities industry, my hope is that they keep the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower intact because it’s turned out to be a rather reliable source of information about firms great and small that are in violation of securities law. In fact, on Jan…. 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 AM Fills Key Investment Strategist Post
David Bianco Tapped for Chief Investment Strategist for the Americas Deutsche Asset Management (Deutsche AM) has a new chief investment strategist for the Americas and head of equities in the U.S., David Bianco, who has been serving as the bank’s U.S. Equity Strategist since 2012, officials say. Bianco will be based in New York and… Read More >>
Ops Staffs to Heed the Call of Disruption in 2017
(The word “disruption” has been noted by pundits as one of the most over-used in 2016. However, the term still accurately describes the changes underway in securities operations — and across financial services — that shook multiple groups, disciplines and conventional wisdom. To appease linguists and help operations staffs, FTF News in this final installment… Read More >>
Trump Moves to Fill Top SEC Post as Massad Resigns
The SEC has an official nominee for its next chairman and the head of the CFTC has just announced his resignation as President-elect Donald J. Trump fills out his administration and signals a new approach to regulation. During the U.S. presidential campaign, Trump sounded clarion a call for less regulation via the federal government. His… Read More >>
Morgan Stanley Settles Customer Reserves Case
Morgan Stanley & Co. has agreed to pay a $7.5 million civil penalty as part of a settlement with the SEC over allegations that the firm violated the regulator’s Customer Protection Rule. The rule governs “customers’ cash and securities so that they can be promptly returned should the broker-dealer fail,” SEC officials say. However, “complex… 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 >>
Eagle, Donnelley Alliance Targets New SEC Reporting
Eagle Investment Systems and Donnelley Financial Solutions have formed a strategic alliance to create an integrated offering that will help firms comply with new monthly and annual SEC reporting rules that require the gathering of “census-type” and portfolio data about mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Specifically, the alliance will graft Donnelley’s financial reporting and… Read More >>
