Compliance

The Volcker Rule may finally be out, but the process of understanding the intricacies of the complex regulation that bans the largest banks from making risky trades has only just begun.

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch agreed to pay about $131 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims it failed to tell investors that hedge fund Magnetar Capital had a role in selecting assets for two 2006 mortgage-backed securities.

Former U.S. Senator Judd Gregg is stepping down as the head of Wall Street’s biggest lobbying group, according to people briefed on the discussions.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council on Wednesday issued final guidance aimed at helping, banks, credit unions and other financial institutions manage risks related to social media.

JPMorgan Chase, the target of multiple U.S. Justice Department investigations, tentatively agreed to pay about $2 billion to resolve probes into whether it ignored warning signs about Bernard Madoff’s crimes, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The enhanced site allows advisors to alter certain components of their profiles at will -- though not their disciplinary history.

Investment advisors will play a critical role in helping the nearly 80 million baby boomers and future generations develop a sustainable plan for retirement, a pair of senators said on Wednesday.

Paul Volcker said he wasn’t involved with writing the final version of the rule that bears his name, staying abreast of developments from a distance as regulators crafted details of his curbs on trading by banks.

Even as the SEC is contemplating an expansion of fiduciary rules to include broker-dealers who operate in the retail space, some advocates argue that the regulatory interpretation of the responsibilities under a fiduciary standard has strayed from common-law precedent and become dangerously diluted.

David Sirianni, Oppenheimer Holdings' head municipal bond trader, was fined $100,000 and suspended for 60 days by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for overcharging customers.

Wells Fargo, which has set aside the least money for legal costs among the four biggest U.S. banks, will conduct an internal review of its ethics as the industry grapples with a surge in probes and lawsuits.

Goldman Sachs Group and Deutsche Bank AG are among five Wall Street firms in addition to JPMorgan Chase whose hiring practices in China are being probed by U.S. regulators, the New York Times reported.

The independent broker-dealer got into hot water over unsuitable fund sales, according to FINRA.

Former Bear Stearns managing director Roberto “Bobby” Ruiz was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison for his role in a massive El Paso County corruption case that led to numerous convictions of public officials.

Deutsche Bank AG, Europe’s biggest investment bank by revenue, barred multi-party chat rooms at its fixed-income and currency trading businesses as regulators continued punishing banks for alleged rate-rigging.

Deutsche Bank AG and Royal Bank of Scotland Group are among six companies fined a record 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) by the European Union for rigging interest rates linked to Libor.

Wall Street banks, which already shut proprietary trading units that helped fuel record profits, are girding to learn next week how much revenue the Volcker rule may cut from the $44 billion they say comes from market-making.

Deborah Castellani, a principal and senior fiduciary specialist with Akros Fiduciary in Austin, Texas, responded on LinkedIn to a story about advisory firms sanctioned by the SEC over their compliance programs.

Ernst & Young agreed to pay investors $99 million to settle litigation over its auditing of the bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings, according to a filing in federal court in Manhattan.

The U.S. Treasury Department has signed intergovernmental agreements with the Cayman Islands and Costa Rica in an effort to combat offshore tax evasion as part of the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.