A broker-dealer agreed to pay $50,000 to settle FINRA charges that it failed to "establish, document, and maintain" a system of adequate risk management controls and supervisory procedures designed to manage financial and regulatory risks regarding market access. According to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC (the "firm") neglected to have sufficient controls and supervisory procedures designed to prevent orders that went over preset capital thresholds. FINRA alleged that the firm lacked any automated pre-trade controls to stop the entry of orders that

The U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") designated three individuals and nine entities for their roles in supporting Russia's occupation of Crimea and control of Eastern Ukraine. The designations included two individuals and one entity, alleged to have committed serious human rights abuses, under the Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014, as amended by the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act Section 228. In addition, OFAC imposed sanctions on eight entities and one individual, who are

A German-based bank agreed to pay $12 million to settle CFTC charges for failing to sufficiently supervise swap dealer ("SD") activities. According to the CFTC Order, Commerzbank AG ("Commerzbank") neglected to adequately address SD compliance issues after its management was informed of the CFTC's investigations of these activities. The CFTC claimed that Commerzbank filed inaccurate chief compliance officer reports with the CFTC. The alleged violations included failures to: institute policies designed to determine if swap transactions with certain non-U.S. swap counterparties were subject to

In a survey report prepared by the RAND Corporation and commissioned by the SEC Office of the Investor Advocate, survey respondents expressed generally positive views of the SEC's proposed rulemaking known as the Customer Relationship Summary ("CRS"). The proposal was designed to improve the quality and transparency of investors' relationships with investment advisers ("IAs") and broker-dealers ("BDs"). As previously covered, the SEC proposal would require BDs and IAs to provide retail investors with a short-form "relationship summary" detailing (i) certain information related to services

Recently confirmed CFTC Commissioner Dawn DeBerry Stump named Dan Busca to serve as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor, and Elizabeth Mastrogiacomo to serve as Senior Counsel. Mr. Busca was Deputy Director of Data and Reporting at the CFTC Division of Market Oversight ("DMO"). While there, Mr. Busca was responsible for enhancing the swap data reporting and public dissemination mandates implemented by the agency in response to the Dodd-Frank Act. Mr. Busca initially joined the CFTC as an Associate Director in the Surveillance branch of the DMO. Ms. Mastrogiacomo formerly served as a