CME Group Disciplinary Notices Held Steady in 2024 After Significant Jump in 2023

Notices had significantly increased in 2023 after declining three previous years.

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Disciplinary notices issued by the CME Group's Market Regulation Enforcement team remained steady in 2024 after experiencing a significant increase in 2023, according to a new report by Cornerstone Research.

The report, Trends in CME Group Disciplinary Notices—2018-2024, found that the CME Group brought 846 disciplinary actions against market participants between 2018 and 2024. Following a 57% decline in notices issued from 2019 through 2022, notices increased by 84% in 2023 and have since remained steady, with 122 notices published in 2024. Over the seven years, monetary penalties imposed by the CME Group totaled over $76 million.

"After reaching a high of 158 in 2019, the number of CME Group notices substantially declined over the following three years, totaling just 68 notices in 2022," said Nicole Moran, a report coauthor and vice president at Cornerstone Research. "Of the 846 notices issued between 2018 and 2024, 414 referenced more than one violated rule, with an average of 1.8 rules referenced per notice, while 119 actions involved more than one exchange."

Similar to the number of notices, monetary penalties imposed by the CME Group reached a high of approximately $20 million in 2018 before declining substantially to roughly $5 million in 2021. Penalties rebounded in 2023, reaching the highest amount of disgorgement penalties and the second-highest level of aggregate penalties over the seven years. Disgorgement penalties remained high in 2024, with the second-highest levels after 2023, despite 2024 experiencing below-average aggregate monetary penalties.

"Between 2018 and 2024, 95% of disciplinary actions had monetary penalties, with a median fine amount of $40,000," said Laurent Samuel, a report coauthor and principal at Cornerstone Research. "In addition to monetary penalties, 320 notices imposed a temporary ban, while 130 involved permanent bans or restrictions on future trading activities."

According to the report, the most frequently referenced rule violation categories were spoofing (204), failure to supervise employees (153), and wash trading (144). Conversely, the rule violation categories referenced the least were off-change transactions (26), block trading (23), and corners, squeezes, and false information (7).

About Cornerstone Research
Cornerstone Research provides economic and financial consulting and expert testimony in all phases of complex disputes and regulatory investigations. The firm works with an extensive network of prominent academics and industry practitioners to identify the best-qualified expert for each assignment. With a reputation for high quality and effectiveness, Cornerstone Research has consistently delivered rigorous, state-of-the-art analysis since 1989. The firm has more than 1,000 professionals in nine offices across the United States, UK, and EU.

SOURCE Cornerstone Research