WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority censured and fined broker-dealer Tradition Asiel Securities, Inc. $20,000 for municipal trade reporting violations in a report that fails to mention $110,000 fines for other recent similar violations under "relevant disciplinary history."
The sanctions for Tradition Asiel appear to be the only muni securities-related ones in FINRA's latest monthly disciplinary report, which was released Thursday.
FINRA examiners found that during the second quarter of 2013, the firm failed to report 122 muni trades within 15 minutes of execution as is required by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's Rule G-14 on reports of sales or purchases.
The 12 trades constituted four percent of the total number (2,905) of muni trades the firm reported during the second quarter of 2013.
As a result, the firm violated G-14, FINRA said.
The self-regulator, in the same report, also fined the firm $16,000 for faulty corporate trade reporting during the third quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.
The FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent sent to Tradition Asiel regarding the violations includes a section on "relevant disciplinary history" that notes that in late 2012 the firm was censured and fined $17,500 for muni trade reporting and books and records violations.
However, a review of FINRA's BrokerCheck Report for the firm that contains 53 pages describing 23 "regulatory events," shows the firm was also fined $30,000 in December 2013 for muni trade reporting violations and $80,000 in July 2013 for muni trade reporting, and related books and records and supervisory violations.
Officials from the firm were out of the office and not immediately available for comment.
