The SEC Remains in Search of and Is Looking for Finders -
Much has been written on the topic of finders and arrangers of securities transactions, including when a person or entity acting as a finder (i.e., someone who...more
With some frequency, Katten attorneys field questions from clients about exchange rules on off-exchange execution of futures and options on futures. This Advisory provides a high-level overview on this topic in connection...more
Regulatory Alert! A Joint Audit Committee Reminder to FCM Legal and Compliance Personnel -
The Joint Audit Committee (JAC) is a club of futures exchanges, in their capacities as selfregulatory organizations (SROs). Under a...more
Recent Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforcement actions rely on the anti-manipulation provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) to punish misstatements made to...more
A proprietary trading firm was sanctioned by a sixth futures-industry regulator for purported spoofing trades by one of three employees many years ago. For the employees’ aggregate alleged misconduct, the firm was first...more
3/3/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing
A trader who was summarily banned in August 2016 from all CME Group exchanges for 60 days on an emergency basis agreed to pay a fine and be banned for an additional 45 days to resolve disciplinary charges that he purportedly...more
Last week, a senior official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that Bitcoin and Ether are not securities and that there might be circumstances when a utility token is also not a security. The same official and...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued guidance to registered trading facilities and clearinghouses related to the listing of new derivatives contracts based on virtual currencies that contained a cryptic warning,...more
Trading Firm and Broker Affiliate Settle CFTC Enforcement Action for Trading Firm’s Alleged EFRP Transactions With Insufficiently Correlated Futures and Physical Legs: FCStone Merchant Services LLC and INTL FCStone Financial...more
11/22/2017
/ CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EFRP ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Listed Stock Index ,
Price Manipulation ,
Record Retention ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SEFs ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan
FCM Agrees to Pay US $2.5 Million CFTC Fine for Relying on Affiliate’s Purportedly Misleading Analysis of Block Trades for a CME Group Investigation: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated agreed to pay a fine of...more
Innocuous Changes in CME Group Globex Rule Could Inadvertently Increase Potential FCM Liability Bigly: CME Group announced amendments to its rule related to Globex order entry that will affirmatively require all persons that...more
CME Group Revises July 2016 Proposal Authorizing End Customers to Become Direct Clearing Members Without Incurring Liability for Default of Other Members -
CME Group submitted amendments to its proposed rule changes...more
CME Group announced today that Saxo Bank A/S, a member firm, agreed to pay an aggregate fine of US $190,000 to the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to resolve two disciplinary actions against it for...more
Federal District Court Approves Flash Crash Spoofer’s US $38 Million Settlement; Federal Appeals Court Appears Sympathetic to Michael Coscia’s Claim That Spoofing Prohibition Is Too Vague -
The US federal court handling...more
11/22/2016
/ Asset Management ,
Audits ,
Block Trades ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
FRB ,
Futures ,
Government Officials ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Illegal Trading ,
Mary Jo White ,
Resignation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Stress Tests ,
UK
Non-Member Tipper and Tippee Fined by CME Group for Insider-Trading Type Offenses; Two Member Firms Fined for Algo System Gone Wild -
Two apparently related non-members of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange agreed to be...more
CME Group Settles With Trading Firm for Spoofing-Type Offenses, Holding It Strictly Liable for Acts of Agents; Orders Disgorgement of Profits -
CME Group brought and settled disciplinary actions against Geneva Trading...more
Nonmember Banned From Trading All CME Group Products for 60 Days Without a Hearing for Alleged Suspicious Trading Activities: Andrey Sakharov, a nonmember, was summarily barred from trading any CME Group product for 60 days...more
CME Group Proposes New Clearing Member Category to Help Customers Avoid Pro Rata Distribution Risk in Case of FCM Insolvency: CME Group filed proposed rule changes with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that would...more
7/25/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Clearing Members ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Dark Pool ,
Derivatives Clearing Organizations ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
EFRP ,
Forum Selection ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
HSBC ,
Insider Information ,
MF Global ,
Settlement Agreements
Broker-Dealer Sanctioned US $415 Million by SEC for Violating Customer Protection Requirements:
Two Merrill Lynch entities agreed to pay sanctions of US $415 million to resolve charges brought by the Securities and...more
6/28/2016
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Bank of America ,
Block Trades ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Customer Protection Rule ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form PQR ,
Hackers ,
Market Manipulation ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Regulation AT ,
Subpoenas ,
UK Brexit ,
Wash Sale Rules
California Federal Court Refuses to Stop FERC Lawsuit to Uphold the Validity of US $453 Million Penalty for Manipulating Electricity Prices: A federal court in California refused to stop a lawsuit by the Federal Energy...more
3/8/2016
/ Barclays ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Federal Reserve ,
FERC ,
Foreign Official ,
Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions (GSIFI) ,
Price Manipulation ,
Qualcomm ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Bank Wins Dismissal of Lawsuit Claiming It Misled FCM About the Appropriateness of an Investment for Customer Segregated Funds: A lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co., and various affiliates and employees (collectively,...more
Bah Humbug—CME Group Fines Firms for Inadequate Documentation of EFRPs; Additional Firms Cited for Pre-Hedging Block Trades and Other Violations by CME Group and IFUS -
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group exchanges and ICE...more
Three Individuals Fined and Banned From Trading on CME Group Exchanges for Market Conduct Violations -
CME Group business conduct committees permanently banned three traders from trading on CME Group exchanges for market...more
10/20/2015
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Futures ,
NFA ,
Restitution ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
UBS ,
Wash Trades
SEC-Sanctioned Trader Began Alleged Spoofing After Complaining About Spoofing by Others to NYSE -
Eric Oscher and Briargate Trading, LLC, a company 50 percent owned by Mr. Oscher, agreed to pay an aggregate fine of US...more
10/13/2015
/ Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Brokers ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Hillary Clinton ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Sanctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
US v Newman ,
Volcker Rule
ESMA Publishes Final Technical Standards for MiFID II -
The European Securities and Markets Authority issued the equivalent of final rules (known as “technical standards”) to implement three cornerstones of the European...more
10/6/2015
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Credit Suisse ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Electronic Blue Sheets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Statements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lehman Brothers ,
Material Violation ,
MiFID ,
OCR ,
Proprietary Trading ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technical Standards