On December 12, The North American Securities Administrators Association told the Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee says that it is calling for a voluntary securities arbitration system. NASAA also approves of the proposed Arbitration Fairness Act (S. 1782). NASAA says that right now, nearly every broker-dealer has to include a pre-dispute…
New York Stock Regulation Inc. announced its enforcement actions against four trading companies. The regulator says that Ronin Capital, LLC mismarked over 8,300 short orders because of inadequate supervisory procedures and supervision. The company continued to mismark short orders even after the SEC brought the violation to its attention. Ronin…
JP Morgan Securities Inc. says it will pay $500,000 to settle charges that it failed to disclose to regulators that it used and paid consultants to acquire a number of municipal securities offerings. The settlement agreement was announced by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which is in charge of enforcing…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) says that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has sent to the White House the Democrats’ choices to fill their two slots on the Securities and Exchange Commission. The two names put forward are Luis Aguilar, a partner at the Atlanta law firm of McKenna,…
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is subpoenaing several Wall Street firms, including Deutsche Bank AG, Merrill Lynch & Co, and Bear Stearns, for information about packaging and selling debt connect to high-risk mortgages. Prosecutors want to look at the way investment banks review the quality of mortgages before turning…
Thanks to the consolidation of NYSE and NASD into the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), security firms registered in the United States will now content with fewer regulatory tests. FINRA officials announced the decrease in the number of examinations. Currently, a lot of firms are required to take a sales…
Rafferty Capital Markets LLC says it will pay over $400,000 in sanctions and abide by a 90-day ban preventing it from opening mutual fund brokerage accounts for customers. The penalties resolve FINRA charges that Rafferty Capital engaged in improper market timing trading practices. FINRA also charged Rafferty Capital with getting…
Brokerage firms involved in legal disputes are finding that they are being forced to hand over relevant electronic conversations that are resulting in large jury verdicts, regulatory fines, and the possibility that investors might re-open arbitration cases where e-mail conversations had been suppressed. Here are a few cases where e-mail…
Citadel Investment Group is investing $2.5 million into E*Trade Financial Corp, which has been negatively affected by shaky mortgage investments. The “bailout” will increase the hedge fund’s stake in E*Trade from 2.5% to 18%. Citadel will pay $800 million for E*Trade’s $3 billion in asset-backed securities. This will allow E-Trade…
The US Supreme Court is considering a case that could allow employees to file lawsuits involving the mishandling of their retirement funds. The issue involves the limits placed on lawsuits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which regulates private sector retirement plans and protects pension fund money from…