Merrill Lynch Settles Discrimination Suit for $160m - Aberration or New Normal?
At the start of this month, FINRA ordered Merrill Lynch to return nearly $1.5 million to its customers. FINRA determined that Merrill reps recommended that customers purchase products in brokerage accounts rather than...more
Seems like just days ago I blogged about Jessica Hopper and her commitment to providing restitution to customers. Since I posted that blog, there were two other settlements (which I added to that blog as updates) in which...more
Firms permitting the creation and operation of custodial accounts related to Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) or Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) transactions must take special notice of Financial Industry Regulatory...more
I wish I had some better news for you heading into Christmas, but Wall Street was not in the holiday spirit, with all major indices diving another 2% or so on Thursday....more
A California district court recently denied a motion to vacate an arbitration award which had denied a plaintiff’s claims brought before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”)....more
Financial institutions face enormous pressures with respect to anti-money laundering compliance. These burdens are about to grow with implementation of customer due diligence rules. In 2017, federal and state regulators...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which the defendant filed fraud and RICO actions in federal court against several persons and entities alleging they defrauded her out of millions of dollars....more
Even as auto lending continues at near break-neck pace, regulators are expressing concerns about the rise (again) of subprime delinquencies from borrowers. The trend, at a time when the US economy is doing relatively well,...more
This case involved an underlying arbitration before an arbitration panel operating under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules, which was brought by Judith and Kenneth Goldman against their financial...more
FINRA recently settled an action against a registered representative of a broker-dealer for alleged violations regarding the safeguarding and use of private consumer data. The broker accepted and consented to the settlement...more
Welcome to the 2015 Mid-Year Report from the BakerHostetler Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Practice Team. The purpose is to provide a periodic survey, apart from our team Executive Alerts, on matters we...more
NYDFS Issues BitLicense Framework for Regulating Virtual Currency Firms - The New York State Department of Financial Services issued final regulations requiring a so-called “BitLicense” and establishing minimum...more
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch Settle RMBS Lawsuit with FDIC - On November 17, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch settled securities claims brought by the FDIC related to RMBS sold to United Western Bank. The FDIC,...more
CFTC Staff Authorizes University to Offer Election and Economic Indicator Binary Options Without Registration as an Execution Facility: The Division of Market Oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has, in recent months, increased its regulatory focus on investor awareness regarding closed-end funds (“CEFs”). In October of last year, FINRA issued an Investor Alert...more