RBC Loses Finra Arbitration Over Lehman Stock Advice

Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender, was ordered to pay more than $800,000 to a U.S. couple over their losses on investments including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. preferred stock.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel imposed financial penalties, including $250,000 of punitive damages, after finding that an RBC broker falsified the risk tolerance of Linda and Russell Rupp, and misrepresented that the U.S. government wouldn’t let Lehman Brothers fail, according to a decision dated yesterday. The Bonita Springs, Florida, couple lost much of the money when the investment bank filed for bankruptcy in September 2008.