meta_id 3104216

On April 1, 2026, the Washington Department of Financial Institutions Securities Division entered into a consent order with RBC Capital Markets, LLC (FINRA CRD No. 31194) to settle violations of the Securities Act of Washington. The order resolves a coordinated multistate investigation led by Washington into the broker-dealer's commission practices on equity transactions. Between May 16, 2020 and May 16, 2025, RBC charged unreasonable commissions exceeding 5% of the principal amount on approximately 89,900 equity transactions nationwide, totalling approximately $3,400,000. In Washington specifically, RBC executed 4,109 equity transactions with unreasonable commissions totalling $160,610.84. The violations occurred because RBC maintained a minimum fixed commission of $95 for equity transactions, which resulted in commissions exceeding 5% on small principal trades. RBC's trade review system failed to flag transactions where the minimum commission exceeded the 5% guideline established under Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Rule 2121 Supplementary Material .01. Additionally, RBC did not reasonably supervise these transactions to ensure customers were charged fair commissions. RBC neither admits nor denies the findings. The consent order requires RBC to: provide restitution of at least $160,610.84 plus 6% annual interest to affected Washington customers within 120 days; pay an administrative fine of $25,000 within 15 days; cease the prohibited conduct; accept a censure; and update its commission schedule, trading systems, and policies to ensure commissions do not exceed 5% of principal amounts. RBC self-reported the violations to FINRA on March 23, 2023, and has already remediated its systems. The order also covers similar investigations by Massachusetts, Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, and Texas.