Enforcement: Citigroup Fined $7M Over Incomplete Blue Sheets

The firm has neither admitted nor denied the findings but consented to the sanctions.

FINRA Cites Goldman Sachs for Reporting, Transaction Errors

Goldman Sachs was censured by FINRA and fined in two separate cases, the first for failing to submit required data to the Order Audit Trail System and the second for failing to accept or decline transactions within the required time in the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility (FNTRF).

In the first case, the fine of $260,000 was imposed for the firm’s failure to submit special handling codes, accurate route prices, information for reportable events, accurate execution prices and an accurate limit price to OATS. FINRA found that the firm reported short sale transactions to the FNTRF without the required short sale modifier. It also found that the firm’s supervisory system wasn’t up to the task of compliance with regard to the reporting of correct short sale modifiers to the FNTRF.

In the second, the firm was fined $20,000  for failing to accept or decline in the FNTRF transactions in reportable securities within 20 minutes after execution. The majority of these transactions, FINRA said, were subject to a Qualified Special Representative agreement with an executing broker, which experienced a technology issue that prevented its automatic acceptance of trades on the firm’s behalf and required the firm to engage in a more time-consuming manual review process.

In each case, the firm neither admitted nor denied the findings but consented to the sanctions.

FINRA Censures, Fines Firm for UIT Sale Violations

FINRA censured Tampa, Florida-based IFC Holdings Inc., fined it $175,000, required it to pay $398,401.30, plus interest of $45,799.19, in restitution to customers and to report on how it has corrected systems and procedures with respect to the sale of unit investment trusts (UITs).

According to the agency, the firm failed to identify and apply sales charge discounts to certain customers’ eligible purchases of UITs, resulting in customers paying excessive sales charges of approximately $398,401.30. FINRA said the firm failed to have a supervisory system and written supervisory procedures that would ensure customers received sales charge discounts on all eligible UIT purchases.

The firm relied primarily on its registered representatives to ensure that customers received appropriate UIT sales charge discounts, even though it did not effectively inform and train representatives and their supervisors to identify and apply those sales charge discounts.

The firm has neither admitted nor denied the charges but has paid restitution and consented to the sanctions.

— Check out SEC Charges Advisor With Overcharging in Wrap Fee Program on ThinkAdvisor.