The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ) has fined UBS AG £27.6 million ($36.6 million) for not properly reporting transactions over a decade-long period.
On Tuesday, the British regulator issued a statement saying that UBS failed to properly report 135.8 million transactions from 2007 to 2017.
The firm had to report those transactions under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive which was introduced in 2007.
According to the FCA, the Swiss bank did not provide accurate or timely information pertaining to 86.7 million transactions.
It also reported 49.1 million transactions to the British regulator which it didn’t need to.
“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,” said Mark Steward, the FCA’s Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight
“If firms cannot report their transactions accurately, fundamental risks arise, including the risk that market abuse may be hidden.”
Proper procedures not in place
Steward’s team also found that UBS failed to put in proper procedures in place to ensure it could meet transaction reporting standards.
The FCA stated that the Swiss bank did not adequately maintain reference data that it used for its reporting and was lackadaisical when testing if its reports were accurate and complete.
UBS agreed to resolve the case with the FCA which, the regulator said, meant the firm received a 30 percent discount on the fine it has to pay.
Had the firm not agreed, it would have had to pay £39.4 million ($52.2 million) to the regulator.
Like many financial regulators, the FCA collects reams of transaction data which it uses for a number of different purposes.
The British regulator says that data it gathers can be used to monitor market abuse and supervise both firms and markets.
