UK banks failing to learn lessons from Libor scandal - FCA

From Finextra –

“The UK's banks have failed to learn the lessons from a wave of scandals over rigging of financial benchmarks says the Financial Conduct Authority in a damning report on the industry's response to evidence of widescale market abuses.

The watchdog says that the application of the lessons learned from the Libor, Forex and Gold scandals - in which traders were found to have rigged the rate to boost their bonuses and the standing of their bank - had been uneven across the industry and often lacked the urgency required given the severity of past failings.”

Read more>>

Deutsche Bank's Record Fine Reveals Its Rotten Heart

From Forbes –

“Deutsche Bank has been issued with the largest fine of any bank for rigging international bank offer rates – what the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calls “IBORs”. There are several of these rates: the best-known is Libor – “London Inter-Bank Offer Rate” – but there are also the EU’s Euribor, China’s Shibor and Japan’s Tibor. Deutsche Bank’s fine is specifically for the manipulation of Libor and Euribor.”

Read more>>

Merrill Lynch fined $20 million by UK regulator for reporting failures

From Reuters -

“Britain's markets regulator has fined Bank of America Merrill Lynch a record 13.2 million pounds ($20 million) for failing to report transactions properly over seven years.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Wednesday that Bank of America's Merrill Lynch International arm incorrectly reported 35 million transactions and failed to report another 121,387 transactions between November 2007 and November 2014.

Accurate and timely reporting of transactions was crucial for spotting insider trading and market manipulation, the FCA said.

The record fine for reporting failures reflected the severity of the misconduct and a failure to adequately address the root causes over several years despite substantial guidance from the regulator and a poor history of transaction reporting compliance, it added.”

Read more>>

British Regulators Fine Bank of Beirut $3.2 Million

From The New York Times –

"The Financial Conduct Authority of Britain said on Thursday that it had fined the Bank of Beirut and temporarily banned it from signing up new clients in high-risk locations after the lender misled regulators about efforts to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes.

The regulator said the Bank of Beirut repeatedly gave misleading information about the progress of efforts to address concerns about the lender’s financial crime identification systems and controls.

The bank, which operates in Australia, Britain, Cyprus, Germany, Lebanon and Oman, was fined 2.1 million pounds, or about $3.2 million, and was banned from acquiring new clients for 126 days in places considered to be at high risk for financial crime.

A former compliance officer at the bank and an internal auditor were also fined a combined £29,500, the regulator said."

Read more>>

FCA fine gives context for Natwest over-compliance

From FT Advisor Blog

“Earlier this year, we revealed that Royal Bank of Scotland lender Natwest was provoking adviser ire with new affordability tests that went well beyond the demands of the regulator under the Mortgage Market Review.

In particular, the bank was one of several cited for refusing a remortgage request for a couple who were downsizing their loan and thus reducing their borrowing, in the process disregarding the transitional rules the sector had fought for that were designed to prevent such perverse outcomes.”

read more>>