The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has settled with a mortgage investment corporation over allegations that it engaged in illegal distributions and failed to file with the regulator.
The BCSC announced a settlement agreement with the Symmetry 2 Mortgage Investment Corp., which admitted that it failed to meet its regulatory filing obligations and, as a result, illegally distributed approximately $13.9 million worth of securities to 126 investors between 2003 and 2011.
The commission reports that Symmetry was unaware of its obligation to file exempt distribution reports, and that, once it was alerted by the commission, it filed the required reports and paid all outstanding filing fees. Most of the exemptions it claimed were valid, except for seven investors (accounting for $550,460), it says.
Additionally, Symmetry sent letters to all affected investors that explained the error, and offered full rescission of their funds. All investors chose to keep their investments with Symmetry, the commission reports.
The BCSC also says that Symmetry co-operated fully with commission staff, and has no history of regulatory misconduct. Moreover, it says that there’s no evidence that Symmetry’s misconduct had a negative impact on its clients, and the BCSC says it has not received any complaints from investors.
Still, for its paperwork transgressions, Symmetry has agreed to pay $10,000 to the commission, and to comply with the securities rules and laws.