News Bulletin 2324 - September 5, 2008

State of Connecticut
Department of Banking

The Department of Banking News Bulletin

Bulletin # 2324
Week Ending September 5, 2008

This bulletin constitutes the only official notification you will receive from this office concerning any of the following applications. Any observations you may have are solicited. Any comments should be in writing to Howard F. Pitkin, Banking Commissioner, at the Connecticut Department of Banking, 260 Constitution Plaza, Hartford, CT 06103-1800 or via E-mail . Written comments will be considered only if they are received within ten days from the date of this bulletin.

SECURITIES AND BUSINESS INVESTMENTS DIVISION ACTIVITY

SIGN UP NOW FOR SECURITIES FORUM 2008

The Securities and Business Investments Division, in conjunction with the Securities Advisory Council to the Department, is sponsoring its 20th annual Securities Forum conference on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at the Sheraton Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. A timely and outstanding agenda of panel presentations, featuring expert speakers, will help financial industry professionals keep abreast of current and evolving regulatory developments. Stephen A. Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will deliver the keynote address. With more than 35 years of research and teaching to his credit, Dr. Ross has had a major impact on the field of finance, and has authored more than 100 related articles. Among other things, he invented the Arbitrage Pricing Theory and conducted cutting edge studies in the areas of financial derivatives and interest rate models. Models developed by Dr. Ross and his coworkers are now standards for pricing in major securities trading firms. Dr. Ross is also the Chief Investment Officer and Principal of Ross Institutional Investors, LLC, a firm managing portfolios of alternative investments, and the Chairman of Compensation Valuation, Inc., a leading provider of option valuation services. Dr. Ross is on the board of directors of the Freddie Mac where he chairs the Finance and Capital Deployment Committee. The registration fee (which includes materials and luncheon) is $70 per person, but if you register by September 26, 2008, you qualify for the Early Bird discount of $60 per person. Multiple attendees from the same firm also pay a discounted rate of $60. Download a registration form and read the planned agenda.

Consent Order

On September 4, 2008, the Commissioner entered a Consent Order with respect to Westrock Advisors, Inc.
, a Connecticut-registered broker-dealer located at 230 Park Avenue, New York, New York. The Consent Order alleged that 1) from January 11, 2006 to February 16, 2007, the firm violated Section 36b-6(b) of the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act by employing unregistered agents; 2) between September 22, 2005 and February 16, 2007, the firm violated Section 36b-16 of the Act by selling unregistered securities; 3) from October 14, 2005 to October 23, 2006, the firm engaged in dishonest or unethical business practices in the securities business by paying commissions to an entity that was not a FINRA member; 4) from October 14, 2005 to July 2006, the firm engaged in dishonest or unethical business practices in the securities business by permitting unregistered sales assistants to be compensated with a percentage of commissions earned by registered representatives of the firm; and 5) the firm failed to establish and implement an adequate system of supervisory controls over its agents.

Dated: Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Howard F. Pitkin

Banking Commissioner