FINRA Fines Deutsche Bank $6M for Bad, Late Trading Data

Deutsche Bank neither admitted nor denied the charges but agreed to retain an independent consultant to improve its policies, systems and procedures related to blue sheet submissions, the regulatory group says. (Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the matter.)

According to FINRA, regulators ask for blue sheets to help prevent and stop market manipulation and insider trading. The data must be shared electronically upon request and include details on the securities involved, prices, share quantities, customer names, and whether the trades are buys, sells or short sales.

“Firms are expected to provide complete, accurate and timely blue sheet data in response to regulatory requests,” said Cameron Funkhouser, executive vice president and head of FINRA’s Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence, in a statement. “Incomplete and inaccurate blue sheet data compromises our ability to identify individuals engaging in insider trading schemes and other fraudulent activity. Firms must invest the resources necessary to ensure that they are providing complete and accurate blue sheet data whenever requested – without exception.”