Category: News Roundup

These are brief synopses of news items that have been covered by other sites. They include a few paragraphs and a link to the fully contained article on another site.

SEC seal

SEC Fines Cantor Fitzgerald $1.4M for Failing to Report Large Traders

Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission for “repeated failure to identify and report customers as large traders,” and for failing “to make required filings on its own behalf,” the SEC announced in an administrative proceeding. Rule 13h-1(a)(7) defines large Read More

Norway Threatens to Fine Meta Over ‘Illegal’ Behavioral Advertising

Norway’s Data Protection Authority (DPA) announced measures to temporarily ban Meta from engaging in surveillance-based behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram users based in Norway. By way of background, Meta tracks user activity on Facebook and Instagram platforms and profiles users “based on where they are, what type of content Read More

Merrill Lynch FINRA Settlement

Merrill Lynch Fined $12M for Failing to File Suspicious Activity Reports

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Merrill Lynch a combined $12 million in civil penalties for allegedly failing to file nearly 1,500 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) over a period of a decade. To settle the SEC charges, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a Read More

CohnReznick Logo

PCAOB Sanctions CohnReznick for Failing to Make Timely Disclosures

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has hit audit firm CohnReznick with a censure and a $20,000 civil penalty for alleged failures to timely disclose disciplinary proceedings brought against the firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the PCAOB announced. According to the PCAOB’s disciplinary order, CohnReznick failed to Read More

Bank of America to Pay $150M for Illegal Fees, Fake Accounts

Bank of America will pay total penalties of $150 million for systematically and illegally double dipping on fees imposed on customers, withholding reward bonuses promised to credit card customers, and opening fake accounts without customer knowledge or authorization. Under the terms of two separate administrative proceedings, issued July 11 by Read More

Window maker View avoids SEC penalties

Window Maker Earns Reprieve by Cooperating with SEC Investigation

View, a California-based maker of “smart” windows for office buildings, has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose $28 million in projected warranty-related liabilities to address a particular defect in its windows, the SEC announced. The regulatory agency said it decided not to impose any Read More

CFPB Fines ACI Worldwide $25M for Illegally Processing Mortgage Payments

In a first-of-its-kind enforcement action, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered ACI Worldwide and one of its subsidiaries, ACI Payments, to pay a $25 million civil penalty for improperly initiating approximately $2.3 billion in unlawful mortgage payment transactions. According to the CFPB, this is the first enforcement action Read More

PWC investigation

FRC Sanctions PwC, KPMG Over Audits of Eddie Stobart Logistics

The U.K. Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced in separate actions that it has imposed sanctions against KPMG and PwC, each relating to statutory audits of the financial statements of Eddie Stobart Logistics. The FRC’s penalties, announced June 29, each included discounted fines. KPMG received a reduced sanction of 877,500 pounds Read More

FTC Issues Guidance for Online Marketplaces on INFORM Consumers Act

The Federal Trade Commission has issued new guidance for online marketplaces that need to comply with the INFORM Consumers Act, which officially went into effect June 27. “When consumers buy products from online marketplaces, the identity of the seller is often unclear,” the FTC stated in the guidance. Congress passed Read More