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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 141-150 out of 330 results for "Weekly Regulatory Review".

Morgan Stanley Fined over Excessive Bond Markups

(Aug 2013)

Morgan Stanley has been fined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for "failing to provide best execution in certain customer transactions involving corporate and agency bonds, and failing to provide a fair and reasonable price in certain customer transactions involving municipal bonds" according to today's news release. The story has also been picked up by the Bond Buyer and Law360, and you can find the complete acceptance, waiver and consent .

This action reflects the...

Banks Water Down Loan Terms in Quest for Growth

(Aug 2013)

The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) is reporting that banks are watering down terms of new loans under competitive pressure. For example, some banks are increasing the length of amortization from the usual 15 years to the 25 years, others are decreasing required debt-service coverage from 1.25 to as low as 1 times cash flow while still others are waiving cancellation/prepayment fees.

The relaxation of loan standards is not unique to the commercial loan industry. Recently,...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - August 16th, 2013

(Aug 2013)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Conrad M. Black
August 15, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22781)
According to the complaint, Conrad M. Black, former Chief Executive Officer of Hollinger International, Inc., "fraudulently diverted money from Hollinger International to himself and other corporate insiders in the form of purported non-competition payments in the PMG Acquisition and Forum Communications Company newspaper sale transactions." Additionally, Black allegedly "made misstatements and...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - August 9th, 2013

(Aug 2013)

SEC Obtains Asset Freeze and Other Relief in $4 Million Offering Fraud
August 8, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22774)
According to the complaint, Steven B. Heinz and his company S.B. Heinz & Associates, Inc. orchestrated an offering fraud and $4 million Ponzi scheme since January of 2012. According to the complaint, "Heinz [paid] 'returns' to earlier investors using new investor funds, used investor funds for his own personal purposes and...S.B. Heinz used investor funds to pay business...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - August 2nd, 2013

(Aug 2013)

SEC Obtains Preliminary Injunction in Binary Options Case
August 1, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22767)
A preliminary injunction was entered against Banc de Binary Ltd. which enjoins it from offering or selling unregistered securities and acting as an unregistered broker. The SEC filed a complaint in June that charged Banc de Binary with "offering and selling binary options to investors across the U.S. without first registering the securities" and also acting as an unregistered broker. For...

JP Morgan to Exit the Physical Commodities Business

(Jul 2013)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that JP Morgan plans to sell their physical commodities assets "amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of Wall Street's ownership of such assets."¹ JP Morgan joins several other investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who are looking to sell or wind down their stakes in physical commodities.

According to the WSJ, the sale by JP Morgan will include trading desks that trade metals, power and fossil fuels. JP Morgan has drawn particular...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - July 26th, 2013

(Jul 2013)

SEC Charges Former Portfolio Manager At SAC Capital with Insider Trading
July 25, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22761)
This week the SEC charged Richard Lee, a former portfolio manager at SAC Capital Advisors, with insider trading "ahead of public announcements about a Microsoft-Yahoo partnership and the acquisition of 3Com Corporation by Hewlett-Packard." Lee's alleged insider trading caused "the S.A.C. Capital hedge fund that he managed to generate more than $1.5 million in illegal profits."...

FINRA Focuses Investigation of High-Frequency Trading Firms

(Jul 2013)

In January, FINRA released their annual regulatory and examinations priorities for the upcoming year, in which they vowed to "focus significant resources" on, among other things, algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading (HFT) abuses. They have already levied a record fine against a brokerage firm for failing to supervise manipulative high-frequency trading, and their emphasis on HFT issues mirrors efforts by the SEC and CFTC to bring the HFT industry under better regulatory...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - July 19th, 2013

(Jul 2013)

Court Finds Massachusetts-Based Viking Financial Group, Inc. and its Owner Steven Palladino Liable for Violations of the Securities Laws
July 18, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22752)
The federal district court in Massachusetts "held that...Steven Palladino, and his...company, Viking Financial Group, Inc., committed securities fraud." According to the SEC, "since April 2011, Palladino and Viking falsely promised at least 33 investors that their money would be used to conduct the business of...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - July 12th, 2013

(Jul 2013)

Serial Fraudster Matthew J. Gagnon Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
July 11, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22749)
This week Matthew J. Gagnon was sentenced to "five years of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release and ordered...to pay over $4.4 million in restitution to his victims." Gagnon had pleaded guilty to "one count of criminal securities fraud for promoting a securities offering without fully disclosing the amount of his compensation in connection with his...

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