Newedge paying $700K fine for inaccurate reports

[January 10, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators have ordered Newedge USA to pay a $700,000 civil fine for filing inaccurate trading reports and violating a previous order sanctioning the brokerage firm for the same conduct.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Monday that Newedge agreed to the fine to settle charges that it submitted trading reports with numerous errors between March and July 2011. Newedge was sanctioned in February 2011 for filing erroneous reports between June 2009 and July 2010.

New York-based Newedge paid $220,910 in fines and restitution under the 2011 order, which also covered alleged violations of caps on the amount of trading allowed for speculation in cattle futures in 2009.

The newest errors in Newedge's reports included overstating and understating the firm's positions in various commodities, the CFTC said in a news release.

Newedge also must put procedures in effect to prevent future violations. The CFTC noted that Newedge already has begun putting new reporting procedures in place and hired a consulting firm to recommend improvements. Since last July, the accuracy of Newedge's reporting "has greatly improved," the agency said in its order Monday.

Newedge neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement with the CFTC.

The company "is pleased that it was able to amicably resolve the complaint through a settlement," Newedge spokesman Kevin Russell said in a statement. "Newedge is committed to being a responsible leader in the evolving challenge of timely and accurate position reporting."

[Associated Press]

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