US regulator fines Credit Suisse unit, adviser over improper investments

[BENGALURU] Credit Suisse Securities (USA), a unit of Credit Suisse AG, and a former investment adviser have agreed to pay about US$8 million in fines to settle charges relating to improper investments, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said.

According to the SEC's orders issued on Tuesday, Credit Suisse collected about US$3.2 million in avoidable fees from clients during 2009-2014, and about US$2.5 million of that amount was generated from Sanford Katz's advisory clients.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, Credit Suisse and Katz will collectively pay disgorgement of about US$3.2 million, some US$600,000 in prejudgment interest, and penalties totaling around US$4.1 million.

Katz, who was a former managing director and relationship manager at the bank's San Francisco office, purchased or held Class A mutual fund shares for advisory clients who were eligible to purchase or hold less expensive institutional share classes of the same mutual funds, the SEC said.

Credit Suisse did not immediately respond to an email outside regular US business hours. Katz could not immediately be reached for comment.

In January, Credit Suisse formally agreed to pay US$5.3 billion to settle with US authorities over claims it misled investors in residential mortgage-backed securities it sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Last year, Calvert Investments agreed to settle a civil case with the SEC after being accused of mispricing bonds and collecting inflated fees.

REUTERS