Citigroup Among 5 Banks Fined Over Muni-Bond Lobbying Costs
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Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch are among five firms that will pay $4.48 million to settle regulatory claims they used funds from municipal and state bond deals to pay lobbyists.
Local authorities were unfairly asked to reimburse payments that the firms made over five years to the California Public Securities Association, a lobbying group, to help influence the state, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees securities firms, said today in a statement. The firms inadequately described the fees, wrapping them into bond-underwriting expenses, Finra said.