On February 5, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) from an operator of a fixed income electronic trading platform to settle alleged violations of FINRA Rule 9216. The firm has been a FINRA member since 1998 and a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) registrant since 2010. FINRA alleged violations occurred from November 2008 to May 2023 and involved inaccurate reporting of execution times and late reporting of transactions to the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) and the MSRB Real-time Transaction Reporting System (RTRS).
Specifically, the firm allegedly inaccurately reported execution times for approximately 53,000 transactions to TRACE and 57,000 municipal security transactions through the RTRS. Additionally, 399 TRACE transactions and 123 RTRS transactions were reported late. These alleged inaccurate and late reports were attributed to a technological error and an incorrect interpretation of the time of trade. Furthermore, the firm allegedly failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system and written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance with the TRACE and MSRB reporting obligations.
To resolve FINRA’s allegations, the firm, without admitting or denying the findings, agreed to a censure and a $180,000 fine, with $90,000 pertaining to MSRB rule violations.
