Deutsche Bank Fined £4.7m for Transaction Reporting Failures
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Deutsche Bank AG London Branch for incorrectly reporting transactions between November 2007 and April 2013. Deutsche failed to properly report 29.4m Equity Swap CFD (contracts for difference) transactions. The failure, which affected all Deutsche’s Equity Swap CFD transaction reports in this period, breaches FCA rules on transaction reporting.
“Deutsche is a major market participant responsible for reporting millions of transactions every year,” said Tracey McDermott, the FCA’s director of enforcement and financial crime. “We have repeatedly highlighted the importance of accurate transaction reporting and taken enforcement action against a number of firms. There is simply no excuse for Deutsche’s failure to get this right. Other firms should be in no doubt about our continued focus on this issue.”
The FCA aims to ensure that markets work well and with integrity, and accurate, complete transaction reporting is an essential component in delivering this objective. The FCA uses these reports in a number of ways – including identifying and investigating suspected market abuse.
The FCA said it is particularly concerned because it has provided extensive guidance to firms on how to submit and check these reports, has already taken action against several other firms, and previously issued Deutsche with a private warning in relation to other similar transaction reporting failures. The regulator noted that the size of the fine reflects the very large number of misreported transactions. Deutsche agreed to settle at an early stage of the investigation, and received a 30% reduction of its fine.