Wells Fargo Clearing Services and LPL Financial have each agreed to pay a $900,000 penalty to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges that the firms failed to provide complete and accurate securities trading information, known as electronic blue sheet data, the commission said Friday.
Over several years, Wells Fargo and LPL Financial each made numerous blue sheet submissions to the SEC that contained inaccurate or missing information about securities transactions and the firms or clients involved, among other deficiencies, according to the SEC.
As a result of roughly 15 types of errors, Wells Fargo made roughly 11,195 blue sheet submissions to the SEC that contained missing or inaccurate data for at least 10.6 million total transactions from July 2018 to February 2023, the agency said.
The SEC’s order against LPL finds that, as a result of 10 types of errors from July 2018 to May 2021, LPL made at least 3,679 blue sheet submissions containing misreported or missing data for at least 399,000 transactions.
Wells Fargo and LPL both engaged in remedial efforts to correct and improve their blue sheet reporting systems and controls, including retaining outside consultants and improving their respective governance frameworks and validation procedures for blue sheet submissions, according to the commission.
Wells Fargo self-identified and self-reported all but one of the errors affecting its submissions, which is reflected in its penalty amount, the SEC said.
