Securities enforcement activity is proceeding at a slower pace so far this year, according to statistics from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) for the first quarter of 2014.
The latest stats from IIROC show that firms have made 384 reports through the Complaints and Settlement Reporting System (ComSet) so far this year, putting the industry on pace for just over 1,500 reports for the year, compared with 1,745 reports for the full year 2013 and almost 2,000 reports in 2012.
ComSet registered just over 300 complaints in the first quarter, reported 49 civil claims, and just one criminal charge. Extrapolating to the full year, this pace would result in 1,220 reports, under 200 civil claims and four criminal charges; compared with over 1,300 reports, 333 civil claims, and eight criminal charges for the full year 2013. Conversely, the stats also show that internal and external disciplinary proceedings and internal investigations are on pace to match, or surpass, last year’s totals.
The statistics also indicate that, through the first quarter, there have been no disciplinary decisions rendered against firms, and just seven decisions against individuals, resulting in $322,824 in total fines, costs and disgorgement. For the full year 2013, there were 45 decisions rendered against individuals that included $5.3 million in monetary sanctions; and, 12 decisions against firms resulting in $2.6 million in sanctions.
Additionally, there have been 24 investigations completed so far this year, there are currently 137 investigations in progress, and there are also currently 117 case assessment files under review. For 2013, the regulator completed a total of 200 investigations during the year.