Merrill Lynch Pays SEC $415 Million To Settle Customer Protection Rule Violation

Financial adviser Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay a $415 million fine and admit wrongdoing to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges it misused customer deposits, putting customer assets at risk in order to the benefit of the firm’s proprietary trading. Rule designed to keep customer assets safe in case of bankruptcy violated The SEC charged Merrill Lynch violated its Customer Protection Rule by misusing customer cash that rightfully should have been deposited in a protected reserve account. Had the firm experienced a bankruptcy, customer assets, mandated to be held in a secure, lien-free account, could have been claimed by creditors…