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Securities Industry Regulator Taking Tougher Stance on AML Deficiencies
By Matt Squire
printCorrection Appended The U.S. securities industry's self-regulatory organization is becoming less tolerant of member firms with deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act programs, say compliance attorneys. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees nearly 5,100 brokerage firms, and its predecessor organization, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), have issued fines in 80 AML-related disciplinary actions against securities firms since 2005, including 16 this year. During the first few years after the passage of the Patriot Act in 2001, NASD primarily issued private deficiency letters for AML violations rather than public enforcement actions, said W. Hardy Callcott,...
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