The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission urged a federal judge on Wednesday to appoint a trustee to manage the Woodbridge Group of Companies, a bankrupt property developer the regulator accused of being a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Woodbridge filed for bankruptcy in December and weeks later the SEC sued to freeze its assets, accusing it […]

Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay US$415 million to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges that it provided misused customer cash and failed to safeguard customer securities from the claims of its potential creditors. Merrill Lynch violated the SEC’s customer protection rule by failing to adhere to requirements that fully-paid for customer securities […]

A spate of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement cases involving several prominent financial services firms has renewed concerns that compliance officers could be blamed for violations committed by others at their companies. Now, a group representing financial services industry compliance professionals is demanding clarity. The National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP) wants the SEC […]