NASD fines Merrill, Wachovia and 27 other firms

The NASD on Tuesday said it censured and fined 29 securities firms more than $9.2 million for making more than 8,000 late disclosures of reportable information about their brokers, including customer complaints, regulatory actions, and criminal charges and convictions. The regulator also said it suspended Merrill Lynch & Co and Wachovia Corp from registering new brokers for five business days, in light of their large numbers of violations and prior regulatory filing histories. It imposed a similar prohibition and $2.2 million fine against Morgan Stanley in July.
Among the 29 companies, Merrill Lynch was fined the most, $1.6 million. The NASD also fined American Express Financial Advisors Inc $700,000, Wachovia Securities LLC $650,000, and Prudential Equity Group LLC $550,000.
The NASD was formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers.