Britain slaps huge fine on Merrill Lynch for unreported deals

Britain’s financial watchdog reported Monday it had fined Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch 35.5 million pounds (38.6 million euros ($45.4 million) for failing to report a total of 68.5 million exchange-traded derivative transactions.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it knew of unreported deals being made over two years to February 2016.

FCA officials pointed out that the fine marked “the first enforcement action against a firm for failing to report details on exchange-traded derivatives under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).”

Learning from the past

“Reporting such transactions helps authorities asses and address the risk inherent in financial systems caused by a lack of transparency,” the watchdog said in a statement.

The EMIR reporting requirement was one of the key reforms introduced following the financial crisis in 2008.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a separate statement that it had self-reported the issue to the FCA, insisting that none of its clients had been financially impacted.

hg/jd (AP, dpa)

Article source: http://www.dw.com/en/britain-slaps-huge-fine-on-merrill-lynch-for-unreported-deals/a-41077444?maca=en-rss-en-bus-2091-xml-atom