Israeli Bank Settles Charges for Conducting Unregistered U.S. Cross-Border Business

An Israel-based bank agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle SEC charges that it provided investment advice and executed securities transactions for U.S. customers without registering as an investment adviser or broker-dealer.

The SEC Order determined that the bank:

• maintained several hundred securities accounts that were beneficially owned by U.S. customers;

• managed more than $500 million in securities assets for U.S. customers; and

• began exiting the U.S. cross-border business in 2008, but kept 100 U.S. customers' securities accounts open for three more years while continuing to communicate with U.S. customers.

The SEC Order found that the bank made $3.3727 million in profit from its U.S. cross-border business, $3.307 million of which was disgorged in a deferred-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department in December 2014. The SEC Order stated that the bank must disgorge the remaining $65,700, and also pay $8,713.20 in interest and a $1,517,715 penalty.