Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), Europe’s biggest investment bank, was fined 4.7 million pounds ($7.8 million) by the British markets regulator for inability to properly report millions of transactions.
A coding error reversed a buy/sell indicator, leading Deutsche Bank to improperly report on 29.4 million equity swap contracts for difference transactions, the Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement today.
Deutsche Bank “is a major market participant responsible for reporting millions of transactions every year,” FCA Enforcement Director Tracey McDermott said in the statement. “There is simply no excuse for Deutsche’s failure to get this right.”
The FCA has been cracking down to ensure firms provide accurate and full reporting on transactions. The London-based regulator has fined 10 other firms for similar failures, including Barclays Plc (BARC), Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), Commerzbank AG and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, according to its statement.
Deutsche Bank, based in Frankfurt, agreed to settle at an early stage of the investigation and received a 30 percent reduction in the fine, cutting it from 6.7 million pounds, the FCA said.
The bank “immediately undertook a complete review of our transaction reporting systems to rectify the problem and strengthen our control framework” after the issue was identified in March 2013, Kathryn Hanes, a London-based Deutsche Bank spokeswoman, said in an e-mail today.
