A Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has approved a Settlement Agreement, with sanctions, between IIROC staff and CIBC World Markets.

In the agreement, CIBC World Markets admits that it failed to maintain adequate internal controls on margin calculations. CIBC World Markets has agreed to a penalty of an $80,000 fine and $15,000 in costs.

Specifically, CIBC World Markets admits that it violated IIROC Rule 17.2A by failing to maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that a certain change in the Options Clearing Corporation’s (OCC) method of adjusting options contracts was implemented on the system it used to monitor client margin requirements.

The violation occurred in 2008. IIROC began the investigation into the conduct of CIBC World Markets in March 2009. The infractions occurred at the firm’s head office in Toronto, and affected clients at its Halifax, Nova Scotia branch. CIBC World Markets is an IIROC-regulated firm.