The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) levied charges against Merrill Lynch and parent company BAC North America Holding Co. for failing to file hundreds of suspicious activity reports (SARs) as required by the Bank Secrecy Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a $6 million penalty to settle the SEC charges and a separate $6 million fine to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over the unfiled reports.