RBC Capital Markets has agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that it failed to identify for review more than 100 client accounts with conservative profiles for potentially unsuitable concentration levels of high-yield bonds.
Without admitting or denying FINRA's findings, RBC signed a FINRA letter of acceptance, waiver and consent on Tuesday in which it agreed to a censure and to pay a $550,000 fine and restitution of $456,155 plus interest to clients. FINRA signed the letter on Wednesday.
From July 2013 through June 2016, RBC "failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures, reasonably designed to achieve compliance with FINRA and MSRB rules with respect to representatives' recommendations of high-yield corporate and municipal bonds," according to the AWC letter.
As a result of its supervisory failures, RBC violated NASD Rules 3010(a) and (b)(1) and FINRA Rules 3110(a), (b)(1) and 2010 with respect to the firm's supervision of high-yield corporate bonds, and MSRB Rules G-27(b) and (c) with respect to its supervision of high-yield municipal bonds, according to FINRA.
"We are deeply committed to careful management of the wealth clients entrust to us," an RBC spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor on Thursday. "As a firm, we pride ourselves on having strong policies and procedures in place to protect our clients. In the rare instance those policies and procedures fall short, we take steps to address them."
