FINRA announced Thursday that Bank of America Merrill Lynch was fined $2.8 million for supervisory lapses that led to its overcharging customers $32 million for the past eight years.
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and the Bank of America Corp., Merrill Lynch has repaid 95,000 customers who were charged unwarranted fees due to computer coding issues from April, 2003, through December, 2011.
"Investors must be able to trust that the fees charged by their securities firm are, in fact, correct," said Brad Bennett, Finra's enforcement chief. "When this is not the case, investor confidence is threatened."
FINRA also said that Merrill Lynch failed to send 230,000 customers timely confirmations on 10.6 million trades from July, 2006, through November, 2010, and failed to identify its role in at least 7.5 million mutual fund transactions.
According to FINRA, Bank of America brought these issues to their attention after its January 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. They have reimbursed the clients affected and improved the systems according to a Merrill Lynch spokesman.
Securities Lawyer, Lars K. Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, PLLC, has represented many clients nationwide. If you have investment losses through Merrill Lynch, please call for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses. To speak with an attorney call 888-760-6552, or visit our website at: https://www.securitieslawyer.com.
Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
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