Societe General fined £1.58 million by FSA

27/08/10
News

French investment bank Societe General (SocGen) has been fined £1.58 million for failing to provide accurate transaction records to the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Almost 80 per cent of the firm’s transactions, amounting to £18.8 million, were not reported correctly to the banking regulator over the course of more than two years.

Margaret Cole, director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA, said: “This is the sixth case in the last year where we have taken action against a firm for failures to make accurate transaction reports. SocGen failed to accurately report a very high proportion of its transactions for a significant length of time. This failure is a serious breach of our rules as it can have a damaging impact on our ability to detect and investigate suspected market abuse”.

The French firm’s cooperative approach worked to reduce its fine, which should have been in the region of £2,3 million, by 30 percent.

The corporate and investment banking division spokesman at SocGen said: “We have fully co-operated with the FSA throughout the investigation and we have taken, and continue to take, all the necessary steps to ensure that we are able to meet our transaction reporting obligations to the FSA going forward”.