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April 05, 2012 at 09:59 AM
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced Wednesday that state securities regulators had reached a settlement with Bankers Life and Casualty Company of Illinois, after a task force found that the firm was acting as an unlicensed broker-dealer and investment advisor.
As part of the settlement, Bankers Life, along with its subsidiary BLC Financial Services (BLCFS), agreed that it will not engage in the hiring, training or supervision of any registered representatives or investment advisor representatives through March 31, 2015.
Under the terms of the settlement, Bankers Life will pay $9.9 million to be disbursed among the states where its dual agents were located between 2005 and 2011.
In a statement, Jack E. Herstein, NASAA president and assistant director of the Nebraska Department of Banking & Finance, Bureau of Securities, said, “During this ‘quiet period,’ Bankers Life has agreed not to engage in a violative activity and must refrain from all brokerage activity. The firm also has agreed to hire an independent consultant to verify compliance.” In addition, Bankers Life has also agreed to withdraw the registration of its brokerage subsidiary with the SEC, and will terminate its membership with FINRA.
A multi-state investigation found that Bankers Life, without being registered to do so, engaged in brokerage and investment advisor activity via affiliations with licensed brokers or other firms and directing the operations, hiring, training, production selection and sales techniques of those firms.
