The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday imposed a $19 million fine on investment bank Morgan Stanley, the largest ever meted out by the exchange, for various regulatory and supervisory lapses. In addition to the fines, the NYSE also censured the firm.
In a statement on the settlement, the exchange said that it had discovered "numerous supervisory, operational and technological deficiencies" in some of Morgan Stanley's operations. Morgan was cited for several shortcomings, including failure to deliver prospectuses to 156,000 accounts and to provide accurate reports to the exchange.
The statement said that the firm neither admitted or denied guilt to the findings.
Scott Peterson, an NYSE spokesman, said that the fine was a record for the exchange. Prior to Wednesday's enforcement action against Morgan, he said the largest fine against a single firm had been a $2.5 million sanction in 1992 against Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Morgan Stanley was not immediately available to comment.