News Centre

CFTC Revokes Registrations Of Illinois Resident Aleks A. Kins And Chicago-Based AlphaMetrix, LLC

Date 18/12/2014

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it has revoked the registration of Aleks A. Kins of Chicago, Illinois, as an Associated Person and the registrations of AlphaMetrix, LLC (AlphaMetrix), a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business located in Chicago, Illinois, as a Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) and Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). The CFTC issued Orders revoking the registrations simultaneous with its filing of Notices of Intent to Suspend, Revoke, or Restrict Registration of Kins (Kins Notice) and AlphaMetrix (AlphaMetrix Notice), which alleged that the Registrants were subject to statutory disqualification based upon conduct prohibited by the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

BGC Partners Updates Its Outlook For The Fourth Quarter Of 2014 - The Company Expects The Fourth Quarter To Be The Second Consecutive Period Of Record Post-Tax Distributable Earnings

Date 18/12/2014

BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP) ("BGC Partners," "the Company," or "BGC"), a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the financial and real estate markets, today announced that it has updated its outlook for the quarter ending December 31, 2014.

Federal Court Orders Royal Bank Of Canada To Pay $35 Million Penalty For Illegal Wash Sales, Fictitious Sales, And Noncompetitive Transactions - Canadian Bank Traded Single Stock Futures And Narrow-Based Stock Index Futures On OneChicago Futures Exchange

Date 18/12/2014

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on December18, 2014, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a Consent Order for Permanent Injunction and Civil Monetary Penalty against Royal Bank of Canada(RBC) for engaging in more than 1,000 illegal wash sales, fictitious sales, and noncompetitive transactions over a three-year period.  The Order enjoins RBC from committing future violations of the wash sale, fictitious sale, and noncompetitive transaction prohibitions of the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC’s Regulations, and requires RBC to pay a civil monetary penalty of $35 million.

OCC Bulletin: Regulatory Capital-Proposed Changes To The Regulatory Capital Rule: Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking

Date 18/12/2014

Summary

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the agencies) are proposing revisions to clarify, correct, and update certain provisions of the revised regulatory capital rule adopted by the agencies in 2013. The proposed revisions only apply to banking organizations subject to the agencies’ advanced approaches risk-based capital framework. The proposed changes do not affect other banking organizations. The proposed revisions clarify some aspects of the qualification requirements for advanced approaches systems. In addition, the proposed revisions better align the advanced approaches subpart of the revised regulatory capital rule with the Basel framework and thereby enhance consistency with international capital standards.

FINRA Fines Wells Fargo Advisors And Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network $1.5 Million For Anti-Money Laundering Failures - Firms Failed To Subject Over 200,000 New Accounts To Identity Verification

Date 18/12/2014

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced that it has ordered two St. Louis-based broker-dealers under common control, Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA) and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (WFAFN), to pay a joint fine of $1.5 million for anti-money laundering (AML) failures. For nine years, the firms failed to comply with a key aspect of the anti-money laundering compliance program for broker-dealers by failing to subject approximately 220,000 new customer accounts to the required identity-verification process.

MIAX Options - Monthly Trading Permit And Market Data Fee Changes - Effective January 1, 2015

Date 18/12/2014

Effective January 1, 2015, the MIAX Options Fee Schedule will be amended as outlined below:

Federal Reserve Board Announces Banking Entities Have Until July 21, 2016, To Conform Investments In And Relationships With Covered Funds And Foreign Funds That Were In Place Prior To December 31, 2013

Date 18/12/2014

The Federal Reserve Board announced on Thursday that it has acted under section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly known as the Volcker Rule, to give banking entities until July 21, 2016, to conform investments in and relationships with covered funds and foreign funds that were in place prior to December 31, 2013 ("legacy covered funds"). The Board also announced its intention to act next year to grant banking entities an additional one-year extension of the conformance period until July 21, 2017, to conform ownership interests in and relationships with legacy covered funds.

SEC Charges Staten Island-Based Firm With Operating Boiler Room Scheme Targeting Seniors

Date 18/12/2014

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Staten Island, N.Y.-based firm, its former president, and two sales representatives involved in a fraudulent boiler room scheme targeting seniors to invest in speculative start-up companies.

European Commission - Statement By Commissioner Vestager Welcoming Luxembourg's Decision To Provide All Information Requested On Tax Rulings And Patent Boxes

Date 18/12/2014

"I am very pleased that the Luxembourg government has today announced they will fully comply with the Commission's requests for information on its tax rulings practice and patent box scheme. They will now provide the Commission with all the requested information outstanding.

The Commission would then no longer need to pursue infringement action against Luxembourg."

New York Stock Exchange Announces Fourth Consecutive Year Of IPO Leadership In Global Capital Raising - Technology IPO Leader

Date 18/12/2014

The New York Stock Exchange, part of the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) global network of exchanges, announced today that NYSE Group raised $182 billion in 545 transactions in 2014, more than any other exchange in the world. Listing eight of the 10 largest 2014 U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs), NYSE Group led in capital raised from IPOs for the fourth consecutive year and once again led in technology IPOs.