Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined £5,620,300 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for incorrectly reporting transactions they made in wholesale markets, and in some instances, failing to report transactions at all.
The bank failed to properly report 44.8 million transactions between November 2007 and February 2013; and failed altogether to report 804,000 transactions between November 2007 and February 2012.
This represents 37% of relevant transactions carried out by RBS in this period, and breaches FCA rules on transaction reporting and its requirements for firms to have adequate management and controls.
The FCA said that many of the problems with RBS’ own systems were compounded by the takeover of ABN Amro Bank N.V. in October 2007. The FCA considers that, given the considerable resources available to RBS, it should have been able to overcome these challenges and ensure adequate systems and controls were in place, the regulator said.
Tracey McDermott, the FCA’s director of enforcement and financial crime, said: “Effective market surveillance depends on accurate and timely reporting of transactions. We have set out clear guidance on transaction reporting, backed up by extensive market monitoring, and we expect firms to get it right.
“As well as a financial penalty, firms can expect to incur the cost of resubmitting historically incorrect reports. We will continue to take appropriate action against any firm that fails to meet our requirements.”