September 24, 2011

Northern Trust Securities, Inc. Fined $600,000 by FINRA for Inadequate Supervision of Sales of Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) and Some High-Volume Securities Trades

WASHINGTON —On FINRA's website, it was announced that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Northern Trust Securities $600,000 for deficiencies in supervising sales of collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and failure to have adequate systems in place to monitor certain high-volume securities trades.

The article said that FINRA found from October 2006 through October 2009, Northern Trust failed to monitor customer accounts for potentially unsuitable levels of concentration in CMOs, in large part because it used an exception reporting system that failed to capture or analyze substantial portions of the firm's business, including all CMO transactions, certain trades of 10,000 equity shares or more, and certain trades of 250 or more of fixed-income bonds. FINRA found that from January 2007 to June 2008, 43.5 percent of the firm's business was excluded from review.

FINRA Executive Vice President and Chief of Enforcement, Brad Bennett said, "Northern Trust's deficient systems and procedures allowed more than 40 percent of its transactions to proceed without review, which in turn left vulnerable investors exposed to the risk of losing all or a substantial portion of their principal through potential over-concentration in CMOs."

Additionally, FINRA said that the absence of systems to monitor equity trades of over 10,000 shares or fixed income trades of over 250 bonds also resulted in a failure to review these trades for suitability, concentration, excessive trading, excessive mark-ups or commissions, or for trading in restricted stocks.

In concluding this settlement, Northern Trust neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA's findings. This information was obtained from FINRA's website.

Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. If you or a family member feel you have sustained a stock/securities loss through Northern Trust Securities, Inc., call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

S H A R E   T H I S   P O S T

Recent Posts

August 3, 2026
BZAI Broker Losses: When a Broker's Recommendation May Lead to a FINRA Claim

Artificial intelligence stocks have attracted tremendous investor interest, but many emerging AI companies also carry significant risk. If your financial advisor recommended shares of Blaize Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BZAI) without fully explaining those risks, you may have options to recover your investment losses through FINRA arbitration. Blaize Holdings develops edge AI computing technology for commercial […]

August 2, 2026
Phoenix American Hospitality and the SEC's $86 Million Hotel REIT Case: What Investors Should Know

Federal regulators have settled fraud charges against Phoenix American Hospitality, a Dallas-based manager of hotel investment funds, and its president, William Lee "Perch" Nelson. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company raised approximately $86 million from more than 2,000 retail investors. They allegedly made false statements about the funds' hotel holdings and […]

July 30, 2026
JOHN L ALEX of MORGAN STANLEY

JOHN LAWRENCE ALEX (JOHN L ALEX) has been registered both as a broker and financial advisor with MORGAN STANLEY of Morristown, New Jersey, since11/15/2011.  According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, JOHN L ALEX has 36 years of experience in the securities industry and has been registered with 4 firms.  Alex […]

Contact us Nationwide USA
2401 E. Atlantic Blvd., Suite 305, Pompano Beach, FL 33062
Helping clients recover money across the USA
search
Copyright © 2025 Soreide Law Group, PLLC  |  All Rights Reserved