In acknowledging the oversights, these firms forked out a combined $289m to pay their respective penalties as per the outline below.
- $125m penalty payable by Wells Fargo Securities LLC, together with Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC and Wells Fargo Financial Network LLC.
- BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and SG Americas Securities LLC each paying penalties of $35m.
- BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Mizuho Securities USA LLC each paying penalties of $25m.
- Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. received a $15 million penalty.
- Moelis & Company LLC and Wedbush Securities Inc. each paying penalties of $10m.
- SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. received a $9m penalty.
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Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement, Gurbir S. Grewal, pointed out that firms should first get their houses in order through self-reporting, cooperating, and remediating than wait and see what happens when they come under SEC’s radar. Grewal stated:
Compliance with the books and records requirements of the federal securities laws is essential to investor protection and well-functioning markets. To date, the Commission has brought 30 enforcement actions and ordered over .5bn in penalties to drive this foundational message home. And while some broker-dealers and investment advisers have heeded this message, self-reported violations, or improved internal policies and procedures, today’s actions remind us that many still have not.
