An Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) hearing panel has suspended the carrying brokerage firm Penson Financial Services Canada Inc., as it winds up its business.
Following an expedited hearing Monday in Montreal, the self-regulatory organization has immediately suspended the firm’s membership.
With Penson’s consent, the panel issued an order that also orders it to cease dealing with the public, to provide notice of the claims process available to clients, and to preserve its books and records, among other things. It also orders Penson to not pay distributions to its shareholder without approval from the Quebec Superior Court.
Once the necessary steps for liquidation have been performed, IIROC staff may proceed without further notice with an order terminating Penson’s membership, it notes.
The firm is in the process of closing down its business in Canada, after its U.S. parent sold off its businesses in several other countries, and, after failing to find a buyer for the remainder of the firm, decided to wind it up. Ernst & Young Inc. has been appointed liquidator for the firm in Canada.