BofA Securities fined $24M by FINRA for treasuries spoofing

FINRA announced that it has fined BofA Securities, Inc. $24M for engaging in more than 700 instances of spoofing through two former traders in U.S. Treasury secondary markets and related supervisory failures spanning more than six years. “Spoofing undermines the transparency and integrity of the markets by distorting the true nature of supply and demand. Spoofing is especially detrimental in the U.S. Treasury securities market, given its status as a benchmark for countless financial instruments and transactions,” said Bill St. Louis, Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement at FINRA. “This action sends a strong message that FINRA will aggressively pursue firms that engage in spoofing, including cross-product spoofing.” From October 2014 through February 2021, BofA Securities, through a former supervisor and a former junior trader, engaged in 717 instances of spoofing in a U.S. Treasury security to induce opposite-side executions in the same Treasury security or a correlated Treasury futures contract. In settling this matter, BofA Securities consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings, without admitting or denying the charges.