UBS Fined $37 Million by U.K. for Decade of Reporting Errors
UBS Fined $37 Million by U.K. for 136 Million Reporting Errors
(Bloomberg) -- UBS Group AG was fined a record 28 million pounds ($37 million) by a U.K. regulator for failings related to 136 million transaction reports between 2007 and 2017.
UBS didn’t provide complete and accurate information in connection with about 87 million reportable transactions, and filed reports on another 49 million that weren’t required, the Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Firms must have proper systems and controls to identify what transactions they have carried out, on what markets, at what price, in what quantity and with whom," FCA Executive-Director for Enforcement and Market Oversight Mark Steward said. "If firms cannot report their transactions accurately, fundamental risks arise, including the risk that market abuse may be hidden."
UBS said it was pleased to resolve the issue.
“Although there was never any impact on clients, investors or market users the bank has made significant investments to enhance its transaction reporting systems and controls,” the bank said in an emailed statement. A spokeswoman said the bank is fully provisioned for the fine.
The FCA fined 12 financial institutions for failures in transaction reporting between 2009 and 2015, though the UBS penalty is more than double the highest previous fine. The regulator needs to link transactions to those involved in them to prevent market abuse. While UBS took some steps to mitigate the situation when it recognized its problems, it could have done more, the FCA found.
UBS received a maximum 30 percent discount for agreeing to resolve the investigation, the FCA said. The wrongdoing was not "deliberate or reckless" and UBS didn’t make a profit from it, the FCA said. The lender also identified 85 percent of the incorrect reports itself.
To contact the reporter on this story: Franz Wild in London at fwild@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Peter Chapman
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