Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. and its clearing unit agreed to pay a total of $250 million to settle market-timing and late-trading charges brought by the NYSE and the SEC. The penalties also include hiring an independent compliance consultant to review the firms' compliance procedures.
The settlement, which includes $90 million in fines and repayment of $160 million in gains related to the charges, finalizes an agreement reached in December.
NYSE and the SEC alleged that from 1999 through 2003, the two firms facilitated "a substantial amount of late trading and deceptive market timing," according to a news release issued by NYSE.
Neither Bear Stearns nor its clearing unit admitted or denied the charges. Russell Sherman, a Bear Stearns spokesman, did not return phone calls seeking additional comment.
Separately, Bear Stearns reported $45.4 billion in assets under management for its fiscal first quarter ended Feb. 28, an 8.4% increase from the previous quarter, according to a press release. For the year, assets rose 13.5%. Elizabeth Ventura, spokeswoman, was not immediately available to provide details on the increases.
