FINRA Fines Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. $2.95 Million for Submitting Inaccurate Blue Sheet Data

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced it
has censured and fined Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. $2.95 million for
failing to provide complete and accurate trade data in an automated
format when requested by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and FINRA. Also, Macquarie must conduct a comprehensive review of its
policies, systems and procedures related to blue sheet submissions, and
to subsequently certify that they have established procedures reasonably
designed to address and correct the violations.

The SEC and FINRA request trade data, or “blue sheets,” to assist them
in investigations focused on equity trading, including market
manipulation and insider trading. Federal securities laws and FINRA
rules require firms to provide this information to FINRA and other
regulators electronically upon request. Blue sheets provide regulators
with critical information about securities transactions, including the
security, trade date, price, share quantity, customer name, and whether
it was a buy, sale, or short sale. This information is essential to
regulators’ ability to discharge their enforcement and regulatory
mandates.

Cameron Funkhouser, Executive Vice President and Head of FINRA’s Office
of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence, said, “FINRA’s ability to
conduct market surveillance and complex investigations is dependent on
the accuracy of member firm blue sheet data. All introducing and
clearing firms should take inventory of their processes for producing
accurate trading data to ensure that they are in position to comply with
blue sheet requests from regulators in a complete and timely manner.”

FINRA found that from January 2012 to September 2015, Macquarie
experienced multiple problems with its electronic systems used to
compile and produce blue sheet data. This caused the firm to submit some
blue sheets that misreported buys as sells and vice versa on allocations
of certain customer trades, miscalculate the net amount of transactions,
fail to report post-trade cancels and corrections, and fail to provide
accurate customer information. FINRA also found that Macquarie failed to
have adequate audit systems in place.

In settling this matter, Macquarie neither admitted nor denied the
charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings.

FINRA’s investigation was conducted by the Office of Fraud Detection and
Market Intelligence, and the Department of Enforcement.

Investors can obtain more information about, and the disciplinary record
of, any FINRA-registered broker or brokerage firm by using FINRA’s
BrokerCheck. FINRA makes BrokerCheck available at no charge. In 2014,
members of the public used this service to conduct 18.9 million reviews
of broker or firm records. Investors can access BrokerCheck at www.finra.org/brokercheck
or by calling (800) 289-9999. Investors may find copies of this
disciplinary action as well as other disciplinary documents in FINRA’s
Disciplinary Actions Online database. Investors can also call FINRA’s
Securities Helpline for Seniors
at (844) 57-HELPS for
assistance or to raise concerns about issues they have with their
brokerage accounts and investments.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest
independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the
United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market
integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary
compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every
aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all
industry participants to examining securities firms, writing rules,
enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws, informing and
educating the investing public, providing trade reporting and other
industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution
forum for investors and firms. For more information, please visit www.finra.org.

Contacts

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Michelle
Ong
, 202-728-8464
Nancy
Condon
, 202-728-8379

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