Banking developments

The SEC recently entered into an administrative order with CIBC Trust Co, regarding that trust company's failure to become registered as a "transfer agent" under Section 17A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The decision has drawn attention to the relatively obscure area of transfer agent registration and regulation, and some of the misperceptions of the area. The SEC also recently entered into an administrative decision with Smith Barney Fund Management and Citigroup Global Markets, regarding the fees charged to mutual funds by a Citigroup transfer agent that had "outsourced" much of the back-office processing at a lower price, while retaining the full transfer agent fee for itself.