SEC slaps B-D with $100,000 penalty for not registering as muni adviser

Chicago’s Loop Capital Markets helped an unnamed Midwestern city buy fixed-income securities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets for providing advice to an unnamed Midwestern city without registering as a municipal adviser. The action marks the first time the SEC has charged a broker-dealer for violating the municipal adviser registration rule.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Loop agreed to be censured and to pay disgorgement of $5,456.73 as well as a civil penalty of $100,000.

According to the SEC’s order, between September 2017 and February 2019, Loop Capital advised the city to purchase particular fixed-income securities. The city paid for the securities with money it raised through its issuance of municipal bonds.

The Commission’s order found that Loop Capital did not maintain a system reasonably designed to supervise its municipal securities activities and had inadequate procedures, including insufficient methods to identify potential violations of the municipal adviser registration rules.

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