Hong Kong’s securities regulator has fined Citigroup around $45 million over misconduct in its cash equities business.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a HK$348.25 million ($45 million) fine against Citigroup over misconduct in its cash equities business.
Issues highlighted included inaccurate «indications of interest» in stocks to generate client inquiries and misrepresentations to customers when executing some trades.
«The severity of Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited’s (CGMAL) failures exposed a culture that encouraged chasing revenue at the expense of basic standards of honesty,» said SFC chief executive Ashley Alder in a statement.
Bankers Targeted
The SFC will launch disciplinary proceedings against former members of the bank's senior management it considers responsible, though no names nor the number of managers were disclosed.
«In the face of unrelenting commercial pressure to solicit more business and increase CGMAL's market share, deceptive practices were deployed at the expense of clients' best interest and to the detriment of market integrity,» Alder added.
«This resolves an issue relating to [CGMAL] Limited activities dating back to 2018,» said a Citi spokesperson, adding that the bank had held more than 400 client conversations to keep them informed, rebuild relationships and describe the newly adopted enhanced controls.
«We have fully cooperated with the SFC's investigation and have implemented significant remedial measures to strengthen our compliance and internal controls.»
