SEC Charges TMC Bonds With Failing to Protect Confidential Subscriber Information

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that TMC Bonds LLC, operator of an alternative trading system (ATS) for fixed income securities, has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle charges arising from TMC Bonds’ failure to protect confidential subscriber information. The SEC’s order finds that, between at least January 2016 and June 2018, TMC Bonds publicly touted its anonymous trading platform, but, in fact, disclosed the identities of certain firms seeking to trade corporate bonds to potential counterparties over 2,500 times during a two-and-a-half year period. According to the order, these disclosures occurred because TMC Bonds failed to establish and implement adequate safeguards or procedures to protect the confidential trading information of its subscribers.