Merrill to pay $400,000 over telemarketing compliance shortfall

Who says cold calling is dead?

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $400,000 to as part of a settlement with the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation over allegations it improperly solicited business by phoning residents who were not clients and were on do-not-call lists.

The bureau’s investigation, which was based on complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission, found that Merrill Lynch brokers had phoned residents who were not clients and whose numbers appeared on Merrill Lynch’s own internal do-not-call list or the FTC’s Do Not Call registry.

It is the second such payment this year in the state, after Edward Jones & Co.’s $750,000 settlement in February.

“Many of the bureau’s investigations have revealed that broker-dealers do not fully
understand the extent of the rules and how to effectively establish procedures to ensure compliance with them,” the bureau’s staff attorney, Adrian La Rochelle, said in a statement.

As part of the settlement, Merrill Lynch agreed to enhance its telemarketing policies and procedures.

“During the course of its investigation, the bureau determined that Merrill Lynch did not reasonably supervise the telemarketing activities of its agents licensed in New Hampshire,” the bureau said in a news release.

New Hampshire has been on a campaign against improper telemarketing. This was the sixth “significant telemarketing investigation in as many years,” according to a statement from a bureau staff attorney, Eric Forcier.

A spokesman for Merrill Lynch, William Halldin, said the company is “committed to ensuring that all our New Hampshire employees respect the preferences of their fellow residents who have indicated that they don’t want to be contacted.”

Merrill Lynch has strengthened its internal controls “to help prevent any inappropriate calls in the future,” he added.