SEC Charges Options Clearing Corporation with Rule Failures

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) will undertake remedial efforts and pay $17 million in penalties to settle charges that it failed to comply with its SEC-approved Stress Testing and Clearing Fund Methodology rule during certain times between October 2019 and May 2021. According to the SEC’s order, Chicago-based OCC’s failure to implement and comply with its own rule was the result of its failure to properly establish, implement, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage certain operational risks. The SEC’s order further finds that OCC failed to modify its Comprehensive Stress Testing System and did not provide timely notification to the SEC of this failure as required by Regulation SCI.