On Mar. 21, HK SFC fined UBS for facilitation of trading activities.
- Fined UBS securities Asia Limited $4.5mn for failing to maintain effective controls.
Alleged Violations
- Deficiencies involve record keeping of designation of trades as being 'facilitation'.
- UBS failed to provide complete information of client consent for facilitation trades.
- In 2015-16, UBS only able to locate consent records on about half of trade clients.
- To record transactions and client consents, related to facilitation trading activities.
Facilitation Records
- High percentage of the client facilitation trades at firm was done via sales traders.
- Records from UBS could not readily identify, if specific trade was being facilitated.
- Client consent records were missing as there was no central repository for storing.
- Records could only be located by the retrieval or recollection of individual traders.
Sanctions
- Amount took account of firm fully cooperating to resolve concerns from discipline.
- Engaged reviewer to assess firm's completeness, and accuracy of the information.
- Introduced on-going supervisory review to ensure the adequacy of client consents.
- Board undertaking to ensure trading records, are adequately maintained and kept.
