Financial Firms

UBS Settles SEC Dark Pool Case for $14M

Published on: January 16, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A UBS AG (UBS) subsidiary has consented to pay $14.4 million to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission claims that the firm committed violations involving the marketing and operation of its dark pool. The subsidiary, UBS Securities LLC, is accused of placing some players at an advantage in its alternative trading system the UBS ATS, which is the second largest dark pool in the United States.

According to the regulator, the Swiss bank failed to adequately disclose the way the dark pool worked to all of its clients, which allowed only some investors to know all of its rules. The SEC said that beginning in 2008 and into 2012, UBS let customers turn in orders at prices with denominations under a penny even though market rules dictate that all orders cannot be in any denomination below one cent.

UBS pitched the PrimaryPegPlus (PPP) order type, which let traders sell and purchase securities at the under the one cent increment prices, primarily to market makers and high-frequency trading firms. This let them get in front of orders that were made at the legal, whole-penny prices.

JPMorgan Suspends Forex Trader for Alleged Disclosures Involving Royal Bank of Scotland-Related Activities

Published on: January 14, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Bloomberg is reporting that according to a source, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) has suspended currency dealer Gordon Andrew for alleged wrongdoing involving his work at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. (RBS). According to The Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the matter say that the firm discovered evidence that Andrew disclosed trading data to employees of other banks. The forex trader does a lot of work converting huge amounts of euros into pounds at benchmark rates related to subsidies that the EU pays to British farmers every year.

Andrew began working for JPMorgan in October 2012 after Richard Usher, an RBS colleague, also switched to the firm. Usher was JPMorgan’s chief currency dealer in London until 2013 when he was put on leave during a global probe into foreign exchange market manipulation. He left the firm the following year. Regulators in the U.K. and the U.S. have since fined JPMorgan $1 billion related to the rigging probe. RBS was ordered to pay a $634 million fine.

Today, the WSJ reported that the probes into currency market manipulation have led to new signs of possible wrongdoing. Sources tell the newspaper that JPMorgan has even put aside another $900 million to cover investigation-related costs as well as legal bills. Meantime, broker-dealer Tullett Prebon PLC (TLPR) has started an internal review into its currency market practices. One of its brokers was allegedly referred to as a trade conduit in one chat room. That broker still works for the firm. In 2014, British fraud prosecutors charged an ex-Tullet broker with assisting other bank traders in manipulating trades.

Investment Adviser, Ameriprise Financial Services Sued by Hanson McClain Over Client Information

Published on: January 12, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Registered investment adviser Hanson McClain is suing Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. (AMP) and Thomas Chandler for purportedly taking confidential client data and soliciting its customers. The investment adviser says that not only is this a contract breach but also it violates California law. Chandler was formerly an investment adviser for Hanson McClain, which has about $1.6 billion in assets under management.

Hanson McClain submitted its complaint in September, just days after Chandler departed. In November, the court allowed a preliminary injunction barring Ameriprise and Chandler from getting in touch with the clients under dispute and ordering them to give back certain documents until the case is resolved. In December, the RIA submitted an amended complaint requesting a permanent injunction barring Chandler from soliciting clients. Hanson McClain wants compensatory damages as well as the return of its clients’ information.

The firm says that Chandler took the data from its servers, moving the information to a personal email account. The data allegedly includes account numbers, names, net worth, and other pertinent information for clients whose total net worth is around $540,000. Hanson McClain also claims that Chandler asked for the emails of its “platinum” clients and then connected with them via LinkedIn. The RIA contends that Ameriprise and one of its branch managers worked with Chandler to take the information.

JPMorgan to Pay $500M to Resolve Mortgage Settlement Involving Bear Stearns, Says Source

Published on: January 10, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Reuters and Bloomberg are reporting that according to person familiar with the case, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has consented in principal to resolve a class action case related to Bear Stearns’ sale of $17.58B of faulty mortgage securities for $500 million. JPMorgan purchased Bear Stearns in 2008.

The agreement settles claims that Bear Stearns violated federal securities laws when, from May 2006 to April 2007. it sold certificates backed by over 47,000 primarily subprime and low documentation “Alt-A” mortgages in over a dozen offerings. Almost all certificates were eventually reduced to “junk” status even though 92% of them had been given “trip-A” ratings previously.

The plaintiffs, led by the New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund and, the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, claim that offering documents included misleading and false statements about underwriting guidelines that Bear’s EMC Mortgage unit and other lenders used, as well as inaccuracies related to associated property appraisals. According to the lawsuit, because of the omissions and false statements, the class bought certificates that were a lot risker than what they were represented as and unequal in quality to other investments that received the same credit rating.

Ambac Files Mortgage Bond Lawsuit Against Bank of America

Published on: January 7, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ambac Assurance filed a mortgage bond lawsuit against Bank of America (BAC) for what it claims were losses of hundreds of millions of dollars from insuring over $1.6B of securities. The holding company says that the loans were at least partially backed by high-risk mortgages from the bank’s Countrywide Home Loans unit.

According to the mortgage bond lawsuit, Ambac contends that Countrywide lied about the quality of its underwriting of loans that were backing the securities, which were issued in several transactions over a two-year period prior to the acquisition of the unit by Bank of America in 2008. The holding company said that it could be facing potential claims greater than $600 million. It claims that the loan pools backing the certificates it insured have lost billions of dollars. Ambac said that if it had known Countrywide lied it would have never guaranteed payments.

This is not the first time that Ambac has sued Bank of America Corp. In 2010, the company filed a $16.7 billion mortgage-backed securities case against the bank. In that securities case, Ambac claimed that Countrywide fraudulently persuaded Ambac to insure bonds with loans that were not properly made.

Beneficiaries of Puerto Rico Trust File Securities Fraud Lawsuit Seeking Over $4.5M From UBS Financial Services

Published on: January 5, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Plaintiffs in Puerto Rico who say they are the beneficiaries of a trust have filed a securities lawsuit against UBS Financial Services (UBS). The beneficiaries’ complaint asserts that UBS in Puerto Rico breached its duty to properly manage funds linked to UBS’s proprietary closed-end Puerto Rico bond funds.

The beneficiaries of Nellie Sánchez Carmona’s estate claim that the brokerage firm acted against their best interests when it opted to keep the trust invested in the proprietary funds-a move that earned UBS underwriting and management fees, along with commissions, and interest. The beneficiaries contend that UBS and its subsidiaries purposely prevented Sánchez Carmona from collecting benefits she was owed so that the firm could keep investing her money in the closed-end funds, which were issued by the firm, and continue to collect fees.

Also, according to the plaintiffs, for 10 years UBS prevented Sánchez Carmona from finding out that she was a beneficiary of the trust, which was set up by her husband Robert Hargen. Even though he passed away several years ago, UBS, in federal filings up to at least 2010, represented that Hargen was still alive and in possession of the trust.

Morgan Stanley Fires Wealth Management Group Employee For Stealing Client Data

Published on: January 5, 2015 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Morgan Stanley (MS) has let go of Galen Marsh, a 30-year-old financial adviser in its wealth management group, for stealing client information and allegedly making some of the data that he took available online. Some 350,000 of the brokerage firm’s 3.5 million wirehouse clients were affected. About 900 clients’ account names and numbers were briefly posted on the Internet.

Morgan Stanley discovered that Marsh had downloaded the client data, including account numbers, names, states of residence, and asset values. In a statement, the firm said that there is no proof of any financial loss sustained by the clients whose information was stolen. (Social security numbers and account passwords were not taken.)

The firm says it is notifying the clients who were affected. It has also reached out to regulators and law enforcement.

Financial Firm News: NH Regulator Fines Merrill Lynch $400K for Telemarketing Compliance Shortfalls, Court Orders Vasquez Global Investments to Pay More Than $1.3M for Commodity Pool Fraud, and FINRA Sanctions Monex Securities Inc.

Published on: December 29, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

New Hampshire Says Merrill Lynch Must Pay $400,000 For Not Complying with Telemarketing Rules

Bank of America (BAC) Merrill Lynch has consented to pay $400,000 to resolve claims made by the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation accusing the firm of improperly soliciting business when it called people who were on do-not-call lists and were not clients. As part of the deal, Merrill Lynch will improve its telemarketing procedures and policies. A spokesperson for the brokerage firm says it has already enhanced internal controls to avoid making inappropriate calls moving forward.

According to the regulator, not only did the broker-dealer fail to fully comprehend how to comply with the state’s rules for telemarketing but also the firm did not reasonably supervise its agents’ telemarketing activities in New Hampshire.

Credit Suisse Ordered to Face $10B Mortgage-Backed Securities Fraud Lawsuit by NY AG

Published on: December 26, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A New York State Supreme Court justice says that Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) must face a $10 billion securities lawsuit accusing the bank of mortgage-backed securities fraud. Justice Marcy Friedman refused to dismiss the case, saying that a trial will take place. She said that the state has shown that the Swiss financial institution may have engaged in misconduct.

New York sued Credit Suisse in 2012, accusing it of misrepresenting the risks involved in investing in mortgage-backed securities. The bank tried to claim that the state missed the three-year deadline it had for filing such a claim. NY, however, countered that it had six years to pursue its claim.

The state’s Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, has been going after banks while helping beleaguered homeowners and trying to keep the number of foreclosures from going up. His office has used the Martin Act, which is the NY’s anti-fraud statute to make its cases. Under that law, it is illegal for sellers to make false promises about the securities they are selling. Schneiderman contends that Credit Suisse told investors that the mortgage securities were safe even though the bank knew that the residential loans backing them had “pervasive flaws.”

FINRA Orders Wells Fargo Units to Pay $1.5M For Anti-Money Laundering-Related Lapses

Published on: December 23, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (WFAFN) and Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA) to collectively pay $1.5M for anti-money laundering (AML) failures. According to the self-regulatory organization, the two brokerage firms did not comply with a main component of the anti-money laundering compliance program when it did not require some 220,000 new customer accounts to go through an identity verification process. The failures purportedly occurred from 2003 to 2012.

The anti-money laundering compliance program mandates that brokerage firms set up and keep up a written Customer Identification Program that lets them confirm the identity of every customer setting up an account. The broker-dealer should use the CIP to get and verify a minimum amount of identifying data before opening a new customer account. The firms must also keep records of the verification process and let customers know that data is being gathered to confirm their identities.

FINRA said that the firms had a CIP system but it was deficient because of the electronic systems involved. Of the 220,000 new accounts that never had to undergo customer identify verification, some 120,000 of them were closed by the time the problem was identified.