The New York Stock Exchange and other entities have agreed to collectively pay $4.5 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations over regulatory and compliance violations. This includes the claim that there was a failure to abide by the duties of self-regulatory organizations to make sure their businesses follow…
Investor Lawyers Blog
SEC Chair White Says High-Frequency Trading Markets Not Rigged
Speaking before a US House of Representatives panel, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White addressed allegations about the high-frequency trading markets saying they “are not rigged.” Her statement was in response to allegations made in Michael Lewis’ book “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt,” which questioned the role…
WG Trading Co. Manager Pleads Guilty To $554M Securities Scam That Targeted Institutional Investors
Stephen Walsh, a WG Trading Co. money manager and principal has pleaded guilty to bilking institutional investors of more than $554 million over a period of 13 years. Walsh and EG’s ex-general partner Paul Greenwood were charged in 2009 with allegations accusing them of using the investment advisory firm and…
Fidelity Investment, BlackRock, Other Asset Managers Take Issue with Plans to Expand Too Big to Fail Rules
According to InvestmentNews, some of the largest asset managers in the world are complaining that draft proposals for identifying financial institutions besides insurers and banks that may be too big to fail would employ an erroneous analysis of the investment industry. Fidelity Investment, Pacific Investment Management Co.(PIMCO), BlackRock Inc. (BLK),…
FINRA Sees 10% Rise in Arbitration Cases, Puerto Rico Bond Claims A Factor
According to statistics put together by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the number of securities arbitration cases brought by the self-regulatory agency is on target to exceed last year’s total. A likely contributor to the increase can be attributed to the numerous Puerto Rico municipal bond cases already filed by…
Ex-Bank of America CFO to Pay $7.5M to Settle with NY Over Merrill Lynch Acquisition Allegations
Joe Price, the ex-chief finance officer of Bank of America Corp. (BAC) has consented to pay $7.5 million to settle allegations by the state of New York that the bank and its ex-executives misled investors over losses that were happening at Merrill Lynch even as shareholders were getting ready to…
Charles Schwab’s Barring of Customers from Joining Class Actions Violated FINRA Rules, Says Board of Governors
In a victory for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, its Board of Governors has determined that Charles Schwab & Co. (SCHW) violated the self-regulatory organization’s rules when it added waiver language to agreements that prohibited customers from becoming part of any class action cases against the financial firm. Schwab has…
Barclays Must Face Shareholder Lawsuit Over Libor Manipulation
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York says that Barclays Plc (BARC) shareholders can go ahead with their securities lawsuit claiming that the British bank caused them to suffer financial losses over manipulation of Libor. The ruling reverses a lower court’s decision. The London Interbank Offered Rate…
Ex-Sentinel CEO is Convicted of $500M Fraud
Eric Bloom, the CEO of Sentinel Management Group, Inc., the now bankrupt hedge fund, has been convicted of bilking over 70 customers of more than $500 million prior to the firm’s collapse. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bloom misappropriated securities that belonged to customers when he used the…
U.S. Wants Bank of America to Pay Over $13B Over Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities
Bloomberg is reporting that U.S. prosecutors want Bank of America Corp. (BAC) to settle state and federal investigations into the lender’s sale of home loan-backed bonds leading up to the 2008 financial crisis by paying over $13 billion. The bank is one of at least eight financial institutions that the…