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British regulator fines Merrill Lynch Int'l 13.3 mln pounds

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain's financial regulator, Wednesday announced that Merrill Lynch International (MLI) has been fined 13,285,900 pounds (or 20 million U.S. dollars) for incorrectly reporting financial transactions.

MLI incorrectly reported 35,034,810 transactions and failed to report another 121,387 transactions between November 2007 and November 2014, said the financial watchdog.

The size of the fine, which is the highest imposed for transaction reporting failures to date, reflects the severity of MLI's misconduct, failure to adequately address the root causes over several years despite substantial FCA guidance to the industry and a poor history of transaction reporting compliance, noted FCA.

The regulator had issued a Private Warning in 2002 to MLI and charged a fine of 150,000 pounds in 2006.

Georgina Philippou, acting director of enforcement and market oversight at FCA, said in a statement: "Proper transaction reporting really matters.... The size of the fine sends a clear message that we expect to be heard and understood across the industry."

MLI agreed to settle at an early stage of the investigation, and received a 30 percent reduction in their overall fine. Without this discount the fine would have been 18,979,876 pounds, added FCA.

The London-based MLI acts as a broker and dealer in financial instruments, as well as offers corporate finance advisory services. (1 pound = 1.50 U.S. dollars) Endit