Protecting investors through regulatory evolution and
harmonization
TORONTO, July 16,
2024 /CNW/ - The Canadian Investment Regulatory
Organization (CIRO) released its 2023-2024 Enforcement Report. The
report underscores CIRO's continued commitment to investor
protection, improving industry standards, and strengthening market
integrity through fair, timely and effective enforcement
actions.
In 2023-2024, the Enforcement team continued
integration and evolution by:
- Adopting harmonized Sanction Guidelines and Enforcement Staff
Policy Statements, effective February 1,
2024, promoting the fairness and transparency of the
enforcement process.
- Establishing a new centralized intake process for all public
complaints and inquiries, simplifying access for investors.
- Unifying decision-making across investment dealer and mutual
fund rule cases to ensure consistency throughout the enforcement
process.
We are also commencing work on harmonizing key enforcement
systems and technologies of the Investment Industry Regulatory
Organization of Canada (IIROC) and
the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA).
"This year's report reflects our unwavering commitment to
protecting investors and enhancing market integrity amidst the
challenges of regulatory evolution," said Elsa Renzella, Senior Vice-President,
Enforcement and Registration. "We have made substantial progress in
streamlining and modernizing regulatory systems, unifying
enforcement decision-making, and improving industry standards. This
ensures we focus our finite resources on cases that have the
greatest deterrent impact and the strongest regulatory
message."
Selected Case Highlights:
The cases highlighted in this year's report represent CIRO's
commitment to protecting investors from unfair, improper, or
fraudulent practices by Dealer Members, to foster fair and
efficient capital markets, and to promote market integrity,
ultimately working to enhance public confidence in Canada's capital markets.
- Fortrade Canada was fined $2
million CAD for making prohibited recommendations for
contracts for difference to unsophisticated retail clients. As an
order execution-only dealer, Fortrade violated regulations by
providing recommendations. The firm also failed to maintain a
proper supervisory system and retain necessary records. In
November 2022, Fortrade agreed to
settle the proposed proceeding, agreeing to pay $703,479 USD to clients who complained and
establishing a $6 million USD fund
for clients with net losses. Fortrade has implemented remedial
measures to prevent future issues. The hearing panel highlighted
the importance that returning funds to affected clients played in
the decision to accept the settlement.
- BMO Nesbitt Burns was fined $1.5
million and ordered to disgorge $146,876 for failing to implement a proper
supervisory system regarding the high-risk trading strategy of its
registered representative, Yujie
Liu. Liu's strategy involved clients investing and borrowing
to invest in preferred shares by short selling Government of
Canada bonds. BMO failed to detect
suitability issues in a timely manner and ensure Liu and
supervisors adhered to policies regarding client account
suitability. The hearing panel emphasized that the significant fine
serves as a strong deterrent to BMO, Liu, and the industry. BMO has
since implemented measures to prevent future failures.
"Our commitment to fair, effective, and timely enforcement has
deepened, fostering greater trust in investment dealers and the
industry across Canada," said
Renzella. "We thank our valued stakeholders, including industry and
investor organizations, the Canadian Securities Administrators
(CSA), and their provincial and territorial governments, as well as
other regulatory authorities with whom we collaborate to close gaps
in the system."
In 2023, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of
Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund
Dealers Association of Canada
(MFDA) merged to form the Canadian Investment Regulatory
Organization (CIRO), resulting in the unification of their
dedicated Enforcement teams.
Read the full 2023-2024 Enforcement Report on ciro.ca.
About CIRO
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is the
national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment
dealers, mutual fund dealers and trading activity on Canada's debt and equity marketplaces. CIRO is
committed to the protection of investors, providing efficient and
consistent regulation, and building Canadians' trust in financial
regulation and the people managing their investments. For more
information, visit www.ciro.ca.
SOURCE Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)