Provincial securities regulators have approved a settlement agreement with optionsXpress, Inc. for trading securities without registration.

Yesterday’s hearing was held jointly by video/teleconference with the Alberta Securities Commission, the Manitoba Securities Commission, the Nova Scotia Securities Commission, the New Brunswick Securities Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and the Bureau de décision et de revision en valeurs mobilières in Québec.

Four other regulators approved the settlement agreement by administrative processes.

OptionsXpress, an internet-based securities firm in Chicago, permitted Canadians to open internet trading accounts to trade securities in the United States.

The settlement agreement requires optionsXpress to pay a total of $550,000 to the regulators of the 10 Canadian jurisdictions in which it was trading securities without registration.

As part of the settlement agreement, optionsXpress’ Canadian affiliate must obtain membership with the Investment Dealers Association and register with 10 regulators by Dec. 31, 2005. Until then, optionsXpress is prevented from opening any new accounts for Canadian customers.

Kelley McKinnon, Chief Litigation Counsel for the Ontario Securities Commission, lead jurisdiction for the settlement agreement, pointed to this settlement as another example of effective co-operation among provincial securities regulators.

“By co-ordinating the settlement process, we were able to avoid the unnecessary expense and procedural complexity of 10 settlement agreements with 10 regulators. This serves our aim of reducing the regulatory burden on the marketplace,” McKinnon said in a news release.