Legal
Morgan Stanley Fined $1 Million By FINRA Over Bond Transaction Prices

FINRA yesterday fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley & Co $1 million and ordered them to pay $188,000 in restitution, plus interest, for failing to provide “best execution” in 116 customer transactions involving corporate and agency bonds.
The bank also failed to provide a “fair and reasonable price” in 165 transactions involving municipal bonds, the authority said in a statement.
“The requirement to pay restitution is in addition to restitution that Morgan Stanley paid previously to customers for transactions covered by this settlement,” it noted.
Morgan Stanley neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings, the authority said.