Dark Pool

Citigroup Must Pay Over $12M Over Dark Pool Allegations

To settle Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled users of a dark pool run by an affiliate, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) and the affiliate, Citi Order Routing and Execution (CORE), will pay $12M. The regulator contends that Citigroup (C) misled users when it told them that high-frequency traders were prohibited from trading in Citi Match, despite the fact that two of the dark pool’s most active users qualified as high-frequency traders. These traders had executed over $9B in orders.

Dark pools are private securities exchange that allows investors, usually big financial institutions, to make anonymous trades. Members of the investing public cannot trade in dark pools. High-frequency trading typically involves the use of supercomputers, usually by financial firms, to make trades within microseconds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil case against Wedbush Securities Inc. and two of its officials. The regulator claims they violated a rule that mandates that firms have proper risk controls in place before giving customers market access.

According to the SEC order, between 2011 through 2013 Wedbush allowed most of its market access customers to send orders straight to U.S. Trading venues and did not keep up direct and sole control over trading platform settings. Customers used these platforms to transmit orders to the markets.

The Commission contends that Wedbush should have had the mandated pre-trade controls in place. It claims that the firm failed to perform a yearly review of its risk management controls related to market access and did not limit trading access to people that the firm had authorized and pre-approved. As a result, overseas traders who were never approved and may not have been in compliance with U.S. laws ended up having market access.

Articles Tagged with Dark Pool

Securities News: Citigroup to Pay $12M Over Alleged Dark Pool Misrepresentations, SEC Issues Nearly $4M Whistleblower Award, Ex-Bankrate CEO Who Pleaded Guilty to Fraud Gets 10 Years in Prison

Citigroup Must Pay Over $12M Over Dark Pool Allegations

SEC Sues Wedbush Securities and Dark Pool Operator Liquidnet Over Regulatory Violations