Blog
November 1, 2009
DBSI which went bankrupt last fall, was “doomed to fail,” said Joshua R. Hochberg, an examiner appointed by a bankruptcy court to examine DBSI’s business affairs. But the company’s troubles did not stop founder and president Douglas Swenson and other officers, directors, owners and top employees from giving “significant amounts of money to themselves,” according to […]
October 30, 2009
Ameriprise Financial has reached a settlement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with allegations of deceptive sales practices. The settlement requires the Minnesota-based broker-dealer to pay fines in the amount of $200,000. The government complaint contended that Ameriprise failed to adequately supervise its financial representatives, thus allowing this instance of broker misconduct to take […]
October 28, 2009
Mary Shapiro, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave a speech at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) annual meeting yesterday signaling the agency’s priorities in the coming months and years. Key issues raised by Chairman Shapiro include revitalizing enforcement efforts, the need for forthrightness in consumer products, as well […]
October 13, 2009
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $600,000 and censured the brokerage firm for tax evasion trading strategies found to be operating among its affiliates. The first scheme involved international clients of Citigroup circumventing US tax laws, allowing them to increase their respective returns. The second scheme was a complex […]
October 6, 2009
Richard Ketchum, Chairman and Chief Executive of FINRA, testified before the House Financial Services Committee today in support of allowing the SEC to ban mandatory arbitration clauses in securities contracts. It is common practice for broker dealers to stipulate a mandatory dispute resolution forum in the event of a broker/client dispute. Such clauses, normally found […]