A Market Regulation Services Inc. hearing panel has decided to issue its reasons for accepting a settlement agreement between the regulator and the brokerage firm Salman Partners Inc. and three of Salman’s senior officers.

The hearing panel issued its reasons Tuesday — over the objections of the regulator — regarding its approval of a Feb. 18 settlement agreement, in which the firm admitted to violations of the Universal Market Integrity Rules in 2002. The panel unanimously decided, after considering the conditionally admitted facts and admissions tendered by the parties to the hearing, that the sanctions set out in the settlement agreement were in line with sanction guidelines and approved the settlement agreement.

In the reasons themselves, the panel notes that at the time of the first hearing counsel for RS indicated that the panel didn’t need to publish reasons for its decision. In a subsequent written submission, it contended that the panel didn’t have jurisdiction to issue reasons. The respondents disagreed, and later formally requested that the panel issue reasons.

In a letter delivered in March, RS indicated that its opposition to the panel delivering reasons is partly due to the fact that a contested hearing is scheduled for late May; this hearing will deal with some of the same issues underlying the settlement, and the regulator suggested that the panel’s reasons could impact that pending hearing.

Nevertheless, the panel unanimously concluded it does have jurisdiction to issue reasons. It indicates that a hearing panel convened to consider a settlement, “should carefully consider its discretion to give its reasons to circumstances where those reasons would have the salutary effect on the process in terms of accountability and transparency in the decision making process”.