The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US regulator, signalled that it is toughening its stance on banks that fail to co-operate with investigations by fining Banc of America Securities a record $10m (€8.2m).

Bank of America received the fine after stalling on producing evidence demanded by SEC officers investigating possible illegal securities trading. The SEC first sent a subpoena to Bank of America Securities back in 2001 but has only this year received all the information it needs.