CIRO fines Scotia Securities $275,000 over complaint failures
The settlement agreement lists 13 categories of alleged conduct behind those complaints, including unsuitable investments, misrepresentation, discretionary trading, breach of client confidentiality, and pressure to buy mutual funds.
Scotia Securities compensated 105 clients a total of $58,780.17 and offered a further 10 clients a total of $15,395.11.
On the second contravention, the dealer found it had failed to contact clients, in accordance with its own policies and procedures, during investigations of 128 complaints between July 2023 and June 2024.
It reassessed those files, determined 67 required client contact, and reached 44 clients. It compensated 10 clients a total of $70,613 and offered two clients a total of $4,500.
Failing to report and handle 371 complaints for nearly two years amounts to “serious misconduct,” the panel wrote, adding that the failure to contact clients during the investigation of 128 complaints “fails investors and is inconsistent with the public interest.”
