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Transmission or maintenance of payments received in connection with underwritings. |
| It shall constitute a "device, scheme, or artifice to defraud" as used in RCW 21.20.010(1), for any broker-dealer participating in any distribution of securities, other than a firm commitment underwriting, to accept any part of the sale price of any security being distributed unless:
(1) The money or other consideration received is promptly transmitted to the persons entitled thereto; or
(2) If the distribution is being made on an "all-or-none" basis, or on any other basis which contemplates that payment is not to be made to the person on whose behalf the distribution is being made until some further event or contingency occurs:
(a) The money or other consideration received is promptly deposited in a separate bank account, as agent or trustee for the persons who have the beneficial interests therein, until the appropriate event or contingency has occurred, and then the funds are promptly transmitted or returned to the persons entitled thereto; or
(b) All such funds are promptly transmitted to a bank which has agreed in writing to hold all such funds in escrow for the persons who have the beneficial interests therein and to transmit or return such funds directly to the persons entitled thereto when the appropriate event or contingency has occurred.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 21.20.070 and 21.20.450. 95-16-026, § 460-21B-020, filed 7/21/95, effective 8/21/95.]
Dishonest or unethical business practices — Broker-dealers. |
| The phrase "dishonest or unethical practices" as used in RCW 21.20.110 (1)(g) as applied to broker-dealers is hereby defined to include any of the following:
(1) Engaging in a pattern of unreasonable and unjustifiable delays in the delivery of securities purchased by any of its customers and/or in the payment upon request of free credit balances reflecting completed transactions of any of its customers;
(2) Inducing trading in a customer's account which is excessive in size or frequency in view of the financial resources and character of the account;
(3) Recommending to a customer to purchase, sell or exchange any security without reasonable grounds to believe that such transaction or recommendation is suitable for the customer based upon reasonable inquiry concerning the customer's investment objectives, financial situation and needs, and any other relevant information known by the broker-dealer;
(4) Executing a transaction on behalf of a customer without authorization to do so;
(5) Exercising any discretionary power in effecting a transaction for a customer's account without first obtaining written discretionary authority from the customer, unless the discretionary power relates solely to the time and/or price for the execution of orders;
(6) Executing any transaction in a margin account without securing from the customer a properly executed written margin agreement promptly after the initial transaction in the account;
(7) Failing to segregate customers' free securities or securities held in safekeeping;
(8) Hypothecating a customer's securities without having a lien thereon unless the broker-dealer secures from the customer a properly executed written consent promptly after the initial transaction, except as permitted by rules of the securities and exchange commission;
(9) Entering into a transaction with or for a customer at a price not reasonably related to the current market price of the security or receiving an unreasonable commission or profit;
(10) Failing to furnish to a customer purchasing securities in an offering, no later than the date of confirmation of the transaction, a final or preliminary prospectus, and if the latter, failing to furnish a final prospectus within a reasonable period after the effective date of the offering;
(11) Charging unreasonable and inequitable fees for services performed, including miscellaneous services such as collection of monies due for principal, dividends or interest, exchange or transfer of securities, appraisals, safekeeping, or custody of securities and other services related to its securities business;
(12) Offering to buy from or sell to any person any security at a stated price unless such broker-dealer is prepared to purchase or sell, as the case may be, at such price and under such conditions as are stated at the time of such offer to buy or sell;
(13) Representing that a security is being offered to a customer "at the market" or a price relevant to the market price unless such broker-dealer knows or has reasonable grounds to believe that a market for such security exists other than that made, created or controlled by such broker-dealer, or by any person for whom he/she is acting or with whom he/she is associated in such distribution, or any person controlled by, controlling or under common control with such broker-dealer;
(14) Effecting any transaction in, or inducing the purchase or sale of, any security by means of any manipulative, deceptive or fraudulent device, practice, plan, program, design or contrivance, which may include but not be limited to:
(a) Effecting any transaction in a security which involves no change in the beneficial ownership thereof;
(b) Entering an order or orders for the purchase or sale of any security with the knowledge that an order or orders of substantially the same size, at substantially the same price, for the sale of any such security, has been or will be entered by or for the same or different parties for the purpose of creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading in the security or a false or misleading appearance with respect to the market for the security; provided, however, nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a broker-dealer from entering bona fide agency cross transactions for its customer;
(c) Effecting, alone or with one or more other persons, a series of transactions in any security creating actual or apparent active trading in such security or raising or depressing the price of such security, for the purpose of inducing the purchase or sale of such security by others;
(15) Guaranteeing a customer against loss in any securities account of such customer carried by the broker-dealer or in any securities transaction effected by the broker-dealer with or for such customer;
(16) Publishing or circulating, or causing to be published or circulated, any notice, circular, advertisement, newspaper article, investment service, or communication of any kind which purports to report any transaction as a purchase or sale of any security unless such broker-dealer believes that such transaction was a bona fide purchase or sale of such security; or which purports to quote the bid price or asked price for any security, unless such broker-dealer believes that such quotation represents a bona fide bid for, or offer of, such security;
(17) Using any advertising or sales presentation in such a fashion as to be deceptive or misleading. An example of such practice would be a distribution of any nonfactual data, material or presentation based on conjecture, unfounded or unrealistic claims or assertions in any brochure, flyer, or display by words, pictures, graphs or otherwise designed to supplement, detract from, supersede or defeat the purpose or effect of any prospectus or disclosure;
(18) Failing to disclose that the broker-dealer is controlled by, controlling, affiliated with or under common control with the issuer of any security before entering into any contract with or for a customer for the purchase or sale of security, the existence of such control to such customer, and if such disclosure is not made in writing, it shall be supplemented by the giving or sending of written disclosure at or before the completion of the transaction;
(19) Failing to make bona fide public offering of all of the securities allotted to a broker-dealer for distribution, whether acquired as an underwriter, a selling group member or from a member participating in the distribution as an underwriter or selling group member;
(20) Failure or refusal to furnish a customer, upon reasonable request, information to which he is entitled, or to respond to a formal written request or complaint;
(21) In connection with the solicitation of a sale or purchase of an OTC non-NASDAQ security, failing to promptly provide the most current prospectus or the most recently filed periodic report filed under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act, when requested to do so by a customer;
(22) Marking any order ticket or confirmation as unsolicited when in fact the transaction is solicited;
(23) For any month in which activity has occurred in a customer's account, but in no event less than every three months, failing to provide each customer with a statement of account which with respect to all OTC non-NASDAQ equity securities in the account, contains a value for each such security based on the closing market bid on a date certain: Provided, That this subsection shall apply only if the firm has been a market maker in such security at any time during the month in which the monthly or quarterly statement is issued;
(24) Failing to comply with any applicable provision of the Conduct Rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers or any applicable fair practice or ethical standard promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or by a self-regulatory organization approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission; or
(25) Any acts or practices enumerated in WAC 460-21B-010.
The conduct set forth above is not inclusive. Engaging in other conduct such as forgery, embezzlement, nondisclosure, incomplete disclosure or misstatement of material facts, or manipulative or deceptive practices shall also be grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of registration.
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