CME Group has posted a notice of disciplinary action against Kevin Howard, who will have to endure a brief suspension and will also have to pay a fine for breaking NYMEX rules.

In particular, Mr Howard violated NYMEX rules that prohibit disruptive practices.

Pursuant to an offer of settlement, in which Mr Howard neither admitted nor denied the rule violation upon which the penalty is based, a Panel of the NYMEX Business Conduct Committee (“Panel”) found that on multiple occasions during 2019, Howard created and executed trades in covered User Defined Spread (“UDS”) in various Crude Oil Options on Futures contracts on the Globex electronic trading platform for the purpose of receiving advantageous over-allocations or under-allocations of futures contracts that should have been associated with the covered options instrument.

The Panel concluded that this activity violated Exchange Rule 575.D.

In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Mr Howard to pay a fine to the Exchange in the amount of $50,000 and serve a five business day trading suspension from access to any trading floor owned or controlled by CME Group and from direct and indirect access to any designated contract market, derivatives clearing organization or swap execution facility owned or controlled by CME Group. The suspension will run through, and including, May 7, 2021.

The notice is effective May 3, 2021.