Compliance & Ethics

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken legal action against Raymond J. Pirrello, Jr., Marcello Follano, Robert Cassino, Anthony DiTucci, Joseph Rivera, and their associated companies – Prior 2 IPO Inc., Late Stage Asset Management, LLC, Pre IPO Marketing Inc., and JL Rivera Enterprises Ltd. The charges stem from an alleged widespread fraudulent scheme involving investments in pre-initial public offering (IPO) companies.

Canada's financial intelligence agency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (Fintrac), has levied a substantial $7.4 million penalty against the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for its non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing measures.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has levied a $24 million fine on BofA Securities, Inc. for over 700 instances of spoofing in U.S. Treasury secondary markets and associated supervisory lapses spanning over six years.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Bank of America to pay a hefty $12 million penalty for submitting false mortgage lending information to the federal government over a period of at least four years. The violation pertains to the bank's failure to adhere to federal law, which mandates mortgage lenders to gather and report demographic information from applicants under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is attempting to bolster the integrity of the financial markets by adopting Securities Act Rule 192. This rule, crafted to align with Section 621 of the Dodd-Frank Act, introduces a framework to prevent the sale of asset-backed securities (ABS) tainted by material conflicts of interest. The newly adopted rule, which will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, seeks to enhance transparency and protect investors in the securitization market.

In a recent meeting, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, serving as the head of the Communist Party's newly established Central Financial Commission (CFC), emphasized the need to intensify regulations and mitigate risks in the nation's financial sector. The CFC was created earlier this year as part of a broader initiative to enhance the party's supervision and control over China's financial landscape.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has mandated that Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, the U.S.-based auto-financing arm of Toyota Motor Corporation, pay $60 million in consumer redress and penalties for engaging in an illegal scheme. The scheme aimed to prevent borrowers from canceling product bundles that increased their monthly car loan payments, while also withholding refunds or refunding incorrect amounts on these bundled products. The company is accused of knowingly damaging consumers' credit reports with false information.