WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Services LLC (ICBCFS) $5.3 million for systemic anti-money laundering (AML) compliance failures, including its failure to have a reasonable AML program in place to monitor and detect suspicious transactions, as well as other violations, including financial, recordkeeping, and operational violations.
News Releases & Statements
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today it has fined Fifth Third Securities, Inc., $4 million and required the firm to pay approximately $2 million in restitution to customers for failing to appropriately consider and accurately describe the costs and benefits of variable annuity (VA) exchanges, and for recommending exchanges without a reasonable basis to believe the exchanges were suitable. This is the second significant FINRA enforcement action against Fifth Third involving the firm’s sale of variable annuities.
One-year Report Lays out Changes through the Organizational Review
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today released a comprehensive progress report summarizing the significant operational and regulatory changes FINRA has made in the first year of its ongoing FINRA360 organizational review.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has named Timothy C. Scheve, President and Chief Executive Officer of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, as a new Large Firm Governor on its Board of Governors. Scheve was appointed to complete the term of former Governor John W. Thiel, who left the Board earlier this year.
WASHINGTON – Instinet, LLC has been censured and fined a total of $1.575 million for violations of various provisions of Rule 15c3-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (known as the Market Access Rule) and related exchange supervisory rules. The action was taken by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), along with BOX Options Exchange LLC (BOX); the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Investors Exchange LLC (IEX); The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; the New York Stock Exchange; and certain of their affiliated Exchanges (collectively, “Exchanges”).
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has named Bari Havlik as Executive Vice President for Member Supervision. In that capacity, Havlik will be responsible principally for leading FINRA’s Member Regulation program, which includes surveillance and examination programs for member firms. She will replace Susan Axelrod, who is leaving FINRA after 28 years of service, and will report directly to FINRA CEO Robert Cook. Havlik will start on April 30.
Sharing Sensitive Information Can Pose Potential Privacy and Security Risks
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued an Investor Alert to help consumers consider the risks of sharing personal financial account information and other sensitive information with data aggregators.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Aegis Capital Corp. $550,000 for failing to have adequate supervisory and anti-money laundering (AML) programs tailored to detect "red flags" or suspicious activity connected to its sale of low-priced securities.
WASHINGTON — Women consistently lag behind men on financial and investor literacy scores across generations of boomers, gen Xers and millennials, according to a multi-year study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.
In 2015, the gap in financial literacy between boomer men and women was 19 percent, and for gen Xers 18 percent. But for millennials, it was only 10 percent.
WASHINGTON — FINRA’s Board of Governors held its first meeting of 2018 on March 7-8 in New York, where it approved two new rule proposals and FINRA’s 2018 corporate goals, as well as reviewed the progress of the ongoing FINRA360 organizational improvement initiative introduced nearly one year ago.