The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) censured and fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. $500,000 for supervisory failures that allowed widespread deficiencies in filing hundreds of required reports.

The violations, which went undetected for several years, may have hampered investors’ ability to assess the background of certain brokers via BrokerCheck, FINRA’s public disclosure program.

They also may have compromised firms’ ability to conduct background checks when making hiring decisions, reduced the ability of securities regulators to review brokers’ transfer applications and hindered FINRA from promptly investigating certain disclosure items.

Merrill was represented by Matthew Applebaum of Bingham McCutchen.

“Firms that fail to file important regulatory information in a timely manner can compromise the integrity of CRD and BrokerCheck,” FINRA Fines Merrill Lynch $500,000 for Failing to File Required Reports, said FINRA enforcement chief Brad Bennett. “In this instance, Merrill Lynch failed to report critical information that regulators and investors rely upon. Without timely and accurate reporting by firms, investors only have part of the picture when researching and making decisions about their brokers.”