Loop Capital fined $100K over municipal adviser registration violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the first time punished a broker-dealer for providing advice to a municipal entity without registering with the agency as a municipal adviser.

Loop Capital Markets, based in Chicago, advised a Midwestern city from 2017-19 on the purchase of fixed income securities but was not registered as a municipal adviser as required under federal securities law. In addition, Loop Capital “did not maintain a system reasonably designed to supervise its municipal securities activities and had inadequate procedures, including insufficient methods to identify potential violations of the municipal adviser registration rules,” the SEC said Wednesday in a press release.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, Loop Capital agreed to be fined $100,000, pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of approximately $5,500, and be censured.