Enforcement staff of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) are seeking an order to expel Gravitas Securities Inc. from the self-regulatory organization (SRO).
A hearing will be held on Aug. 7 to consider the application from CIRO enforcement for an order terminating the membership of Toronto-based Gravitas, which has been suspended since June 2023, after it faced repeated capital deficiencies.
According to the application, the firm reported capital shortfalls between March 6 and March 16 of last year, which it managed to rectify before again falling into capital deficiency on April 11, which it was not able to fix.
As a result, the firm was suspended.
“Gravitas had advised CIRO of its intention to wind up its investment dealer business and was experiencing financial and operating difficulty,” the SRO said.
In October 2023, a CIRO hearing panel approved a settlement with the firm (and its ultimate designated person, Blayne Creed), which admitted it breached the SRO’s rules by failing to meet its minimum capital requirements.
As part of the settlement, Gravitas was required to disgorge almost $40,000, which has now been paid.
All of its client assets have been transferred out of the firm.
Gravitas, which consented to the initial suspension order, has also consented to the application seeking an order to expel the firm from the SRO.