Bank of America unit fined $24M in FINRA spoofing case
By Kyle Brasseur2023-11-30T22:06:00
A broker-dealer affiliate of Bank of America agreed to pay $24 million in settling with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for allegedly failing to supervise the “spoofing” activities of two former traders in U.S. Treasury markets.
Bank of America Securities allowed 717 instances of spoofing by a former supervisor and former junior trader over a period of 6 1/2 years, said FINRA in a press release Thursday. The self-regulatory organization disciplined the firm for allegedly not having in place a proper supervisory system to detect the misconduct.
Spoofing is the act of using false trades without the intent of execution to manipulate the market. From October 2014 through February 2021, two former Bank of America Securities employees engaged in this activity while evading detection by the firm, according to FINRA.