BofA Is Fined Record $10 Million by Regulator

SEC says the bank failed to produce requested documents during a probe into trading by a former executive.

Bank of America Corp. was fined a record $10 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission because it allegedly lied to the regulator during a probe into trading by the bank and a former employee.

“We cannot tolerate regulated entities not complying with their obligations under the law” to cooperate with investigations, Antonia Chion, the SEC enforcement official overseeing the case, said Wednesday.

The fine imposed is the largest ever levied by the SEC for failing to produce documents during an investigation, SEC spokesman John Nester said.

The SEC said the bank failed to provide documents it requested and lied about their availability during a probe into allegations that a senior Banc of America Securities executive traded on unreleased research reports by the firm’s own analysts.

Bank of America neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.