FSA fines SocGen £1.6m for transaction reporting failures

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined the London branch of Société Générale £1.6 million for failing to provide accurate reports of transactions.

The FSA found that SocGen failed to report or inaccurately reported 18.8 million of its 23.5 million reportable transactions made between November 2007 and February 2010. SocGen failed to submit accurate reports for around 80% of its reportable transaction across all the assets classes it traded for over two years, the regulator said.

‘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,’ said Margaret Cole, director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA.

‘This is the sixth case in the last year where we have taken action against a firm for failures to make accurate transaction reports. We will continue to monitor the quality of firm reporting and we are committed to taking action where necessary to ensure firms comply with their reporting obligations,' said Cole.

SocGen has commissioned a formal review of its transaction reporting process and invested in its process, the FSA said, adding that SocGen cooperated with the FSA investigation and agreed to settle early, which meant its fine was cut from £2.25 million.

SocGen is the sixth firm to be caught in the FSA’s crackdown on inaccurate transaction reporting. The FSA has already fined Barclays, Credit Suisse, Getcon Europe, Instinet Europe and Commerzbank over reporting failures.

A Société Générale spokeswoman said: 'We have fully cooperated with the FSA throughout their investigation and 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.'