Finra slaps RBC with $1 million in penalties over bond sales
The regulator says the firm failed to review more than 100 accounts for junk-bond concentrations.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has censured RBC Capital Markets, fined it $550,000 and ordered restitution of $456,155 plus interest over actions involving high-yield bonds.
Finra said that from July 2013 through June 2016, RBC failed to identify for review more than 100 customer accounts with conservative profiles for potentially unsuitable concentrations of high-yield bonds. in a number of those accounts, Finra said, the holdings in high-yield bonds were more than six times the thresholds set by the firm.
RBC failed to do the reviews, Finra said, because of firm policies and procedures that did not sufficiently address suitability factors representatives should consider before recommending high-yield bonds. Also, Finra said the firm’s automated system to alert reps about possible overconcentration didn’t function as intended.
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