FINRA FINES METLIFE BROKER UNITS

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined New York City-based MetLife Securities and its New York City-based affiliates New England Securities Corp., Walnut Street Securities and Tower Square Securities $1.2 million for failing to establish an adequate supervisory system to review brokers’ email correspondence with the public, and for failing to establish adequate supervisory procedures to monitor brokers’ outside business activities and private securities transactions. Because of these failures, FINRA said, one broker stole nearly $6 million from his customers through private securities transactions. FINRA Executive Vice President Susan Merrill said, “Relying on brokers to provide copies of their own emails for supervisors to review is hardly an effective means to detect such misconduct.”