Massive fines as NYSE concludes investigation
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange has announced settlement details against five NYSE specialist firms over improper trading activities.
The firms will pay a total of $241,823,257 (€198m) in penalties and disgorgement, consisting of $87,735,635 (€71m) in civil money penalties and $154,087,622 (€126m) in disgorgement.
They must also implement steps to improve their compliance procedures and systems.
The five settling specialist firms are: Bear Wagner, Fleet, LaBranche, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg and Van der Moolen.
The NYSE and SEC said they had found that, between 1999 and 2003, the five firms improperly profited from trading opportunities.
The investigation which started last spring, has brought unwelcome scrutiny into the NYSE's market model.
It is the last of the world's main equity exchanges not to be fully automated.
The announcement will clear the way for the NYSE to focus on regulatory changes proposed by the SEC that could threaten its dominance of trading in the stocks it lists.
