FINRA Fines UBS, Wells, and Two Other Firms $50.5K

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined UBS Financial Services Inc., Wells Fargo Securities LLC, and two other firms a total of $50,500 for violating municipal trade, pricing and supervisory rules.

The violations and sanctions were described in FINRA’s monthly disciplinary actions, which were released Wednesday. The other two firms were Murphy & Durieu and the Benchmark Co., both based in New York City.

Executives or compliance officials with the four firms neither admitted nor denied the allegations but consented to the ­sanctions.

The firms’ executives or spokesmen either declined to comment or did not return calls for comment.

UBS, based in Weehawken, N.J., received the largest fine, $17,000, and also was ordered to pay a customer $1,620 for allegedly purchasing or selling municipal securities on his or her behalf and charging excessive and unreasonable commissions and service charges.

FINRA did not describe the charges or the extent to which they were excessive, saying only that they occurred in five transactions executed between April 1 and June 30, 2008, and violated the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s Rule G-30 on prices and commissions.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Wells Fargo was fined $12,500 for muni securities trade reporting violations.

According to FINRA, from April 1 through June 30, 2009, the firm failed to report data from 83 purchases and sales of muni securities within the 15 minute timeframe, as required by Rule G-14. That rule calls for firms to report data from most muni trades within 15 minutes of the execution of the trades.

The 83 deals constituted 6.1% of all of the transactions Wells Fargo reported to the MSRB Real-Time Transaction Reporting System during that period, FINRA said.

In addition, the firm’s supervisory system was not reasonably designed to assure compliance with the MSRB’s muni trade reporting rule, the self-regulator said. As a result, the firm violated Rule G-27 on supervision, it said.

Wells Fargo also was fined $7,500 for violations of its equity-trade reporting requirements.

Murphy & Durieu was fined $6,000 for muni trade reporting violations.

According to FINRA, from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2009, the firm failed to report trade data from 105 or 3.5% of its reportable muni purchases and sales within the required 15 minute timeframe, in violation of G-14.

The firm also improperly reported 64 muni trades under the MSRB’s muni trade reporting system, when these were actually “step out” trades that are not supposed to be reported. This conduct also violated  G-14, the self-regulator said.

Murphy & Durieu also was fined ­another $7,500 for equity trade

reporting violations.

The Benchmark Co. was fined roughly $15,000 for muni trade reporting ­violations.

FINRA said that from April 1 to June 30, 2009, the firm failed to report data from 56, or 21%, of its reportable trades to the MSRB within the required 15 minute timeframe.

It also failed to report the correct time of execution for 61, or 23%, of reportable trades in violation of G-14. Further, the company’s supervisory system was not reasonably designed to ensure compliance with the muni trade reporting requirements, in violation of Rule G-27.

Benchmark was fined another $20,000 for violating equity-related rules.

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