SEC Charges Loop Capital Markets in First Action against Broker-Dealer for Violating Municipal Advisor Registration Rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets, LLC for providing advice to a municipal entity without registering as a municipal advisor. The action marks the first time the SEC has charged a broker-dealer for violating the municipal advisor registration rule. According to the SEC’s order, between September 2017 and February 2019, Loop Capital advised a Midwestern city to purchase particular fixed income securities, which the city purchased using the proceeds of its own municipal bond issuances. In addition, the Commission’s order found that 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 advisor registration rules.