The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Monday it filed charges against registered broker-dealer TD Securities (USA) LLC for manipulating the U.S. Treasury cash securities market through an illicit trading strategy known as spoofing.
The bank was also charged for failing to supervise the then-head of its U.S. Treasuries trading desk, who allegedly made hundreds of illegal trades over a 13-month period, said the SEC.
“Manipulative and deceptive trading undermines the integrity of our markets,” said Mark Cave, associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Broker-dealers and other firms cannot ignore their employees’ manipulative conduct and must take meaningful steps to detect and prevent it. Today’s action results from our continuing commitment to combating illicit trading.”
According to the SEC’s order, the former TD Securities trader spoofed the U.S. Treasury cash securities market between April 2018 and May 2019 by entering orders on one side of the market that he had no intention of executing (herein, non-bona fide orders), so he could obtain more favorable execution prices on bona fide orders he was entering simultaneously on the other side of the market.
After the bona fide orders were filled, resulting in profits to TD Securities, the trader allegedly then canceled the non-bona fide orders, according to the SEC’s order, which also finds that TD Securities lacked adequate controls and that it failed to take reasonable steps to scrutinize the trader after receiving warnings of his potentially irregular trading activity.
TD Securities consented to the entry of the SEC’s order finding that it violated an antifraud provision of the federal securities laws and failed to reasonably supervise the trader, the commission said.
The bank was also ordered to cease and desist from future violations of the relevant antifraud provision, was censured, and was ordered to pay disgorgement of $400,000, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty of $6.5 million, the SEC said.
In a related matter, TD Securities has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and has agreed to pay a total monetary sanction of more than $15 million as part of that agreement, of which $400,000 will be credited by disgorgement to the SEC.
TD Securities has separately agreed to pay a $6 million fine to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to resolve related charges, the SEC said.