On May 1, 2014, the SEC announced an enforcement action against the New York Stock Exchange, two affiliated exchanges and the New York Stock Exchange’s affiliated routing broker, Archipelago Securities. The exchanges and Archipelago Securities are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. From 2008 to 2012, the exchanges failed to observe SEC-approved exchange rules and the federal securities laws, which they are required to follow as self-regulatory organizations. The Order states that the exchanges repeatedly engaged in business practices contrary to exchange rules or failed to have appropriate rules governing their operations. Among other violations, Archipelago Securities failed to establish and maintain policies reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of material, nonpublic information. As a result of these violations, the exchanges and Archipelago Securities have agreed to pay a $4.5 million fine.

The SEC press release is available here.