Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission put out a Risk Alert reminding brokerage firms about their duties when they take part in unregistered transactions for customers. The guidance came, along with the announcement that the agency had filed an enforcement action against former and current E*TRADE Financial…
Lawyers for 73 Swiss banks are questioning the terms of self-disclosure program that would allow them to achieve amnesty for having helped Americans avoid paying taxes to the U.S. government. In a request to the Justice Department, the attorneys objected to certain terms while recommending changes to the model accord.…
Rajarengan “Rengan” Rajaratnam, the brother of Raj Rajaratnam, has consented to pay over $840,000 to settle insider trading charges filed, against him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Rengan, who has not admitted to or denied wrongding, also has agreed to an industry bar. A court must still approve…
In a preliminary ruling, The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it expects to reject BlackRock Inc.’s (BLK) proposal to put out a nontransparent exchange-traded fund. BlackRock sought permission to sell the ETF from the regulator in 2011. The fund wants to keep its investments secret, which go against SEC…
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency filed a record number of enforcement actions in 2014. Concluding the fiscal year on September 30, the regulator announced that it filed 755 SEC enforcement actions and obtained orders of $4.16 billion in disgorgement and penalties. Last year, the agency…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have jointly approved a new rule for mortgage-backed securities and collateralized loan obligations. The regulation…
Wells Fargo Advisers LLC has consented to pay $5M to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges accusing the firm of not keeping up adequate controls so that one of its employees would be unable to use a customer’s nonpublic information to engage in insider trading. Wells Fargo also was…
Even after the slew of municipal bond fraud arbitration claims from investors blaming UBS AG (UBS) for their losses sustained in Puerto Rico municipal bonds, the brokerage firm has told its brokers to continue selling the funds to clients. However, notes the broker-dealer, representatives should make sure to evaluate their…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority-proposed rule that would create greater transparency of Nontraded real estate investment trusts. Under the new rule, investors will have to be provided with more information about the costs involved in buying shares of nontraded REITs. With the…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken action to bar Paul Marshall, an ex-investment adviser and broker from the industry. Marshall is accused of misappropriating $2M in client assets. Last year, the SEC charged him and his related investment advisers, Bridge Securities and Bridge Equity Inc., with fraud. The…