NOTICE OF SUMMARY ACTION

FILE NO.:

CME RSRH-23-6945

MEMBER FIRM:

BofA Securities Inc.   

CME RULE VIOLATION:             

526.F. BLOCK TRADES

Unless otherwise agreed to by the principal counterparties to the block trade, the seller, or, in the case of a brokered transaction, the broker handling the block trade, must ensure that each block trade is reported to the Exchange within the time period and in the manner specified by the Exchange. The report must include the contract, contract month, price, quantity of the transaction, the respective clearing members, the time of execution, and, for options, strike price, put or call and expiration month. The Exchange shall promptly publish such information separately from the reports of transactions in the regular market.

MRAN RA-2204-5 (in part)

The failure to submit timely, accurate and complete block trade reports may subject the party responsible for the reporting obligation to disciplinary action. 

FINDINGS:

On multiple occasions between January 2023 and July 2023, BofA Securities Inc. submitted proprietary block trades under an account designated for customer orders, thus submitting inaccurate block trade reports to the Exchange.  These block trades were executed in March 2023 E-mini S&P 500 ESG Index Futures, September 2023 E-mini Russell 1000 Index Futures, June 2023 E-mini S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Futures, June 2023 E-mini Materials Select Sector Futures, June 2023 E-mini Energy Select Sector Futures, March 2023 E-mini Financial Select Sector Futures, June 2023 E-mini Industrial Select Sector Futures, March 2023 and June 2023 E-mini Technology Select Sector Futures, June 2023 E-mini Consumer Staples Select Sector Futures, March 2023 E-mini Utilities Select Sector Futures, March 2023 E-mini Health Care Select Sector Futures, and March 2023 E-mini Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Futures. 

PENALTY:

On October 6, 2023, pursuant to Rule 512, a fine in the amount of $2,000 was assessed against BofA Securities Inc. for its violations of CME Rule 526 and CME Rule 526.F.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 26, 2023