Willis to pay US$51 million to settle New York, Minnesota investigations

Broker Willis Group Holdings says it has reached agreements with attorneys general in New York and Minnesota which will see the company create settlement funds valued at US$51 million.In its settlement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Willis will set up a US$50 million fund to settle with clients affected by contingent commission practices, and the broker will continue with its previously made decision to no longer accept such commissions. No evidence of bid-rigging was found on the part of the broker, and no admission of wrongdoing was made, a Willis statement notes.In the Minnesota settlement, Willis has set up a US$1 million fund, and agrees to the same set of standards around compensation and disclosure. The agreement also resolves a court action launched by Attorney General Mike Hatch, who had claimed the company was not providing the necessary information to his investigation.Both attorneys general praised the quick response Willis made in discontinuing contingent commissions, with Willis chairman and CEO Joe Plumeri saying he hopes all brokerages will follow that lead. “We believe that the regulatory investigations have been a catalyst for positive change in the industry,” Plumeri says. “We strongly support the reforms that the Attorney General [Spitzer] has advocated, and we previously had voluntarily implemented many as part of our ‘client bill of rights’.”