People walk in front of a Citibank store in Manhattan, New York City, March 1, 2024.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
LONDON — British regulators on Wednesday fined U.S. investment bank Citi a total of 61.6 million pounds ($79 million) for failings in its trading systems and controls.
The fine was issued by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, whose investigation focused on the period from April 1, 2018 to May 31, 2022. After Citi agreed to the settlement, it became eligible for a 30% reduction in the fine amount. problem.
“Entities involved in transactions must put in place effective controls to manage the risks involved. CGML [Citigroup Global Markets Limited] They failed to meet the standards we expect in this area, which has resulted in today’s fine,” Sam Woods, deputy governor for prudential regulation and chief executive of the PRA, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The regulator said certain systems and controls issues remained during the investigation period, leading to trading incidents such as the so-called fat-finger trade failure. The main incident highlighted occurred on May 2, 2022, when an experienced trader incorrectly entered an order, resulting in $1.4 billion being “incorrectly executed on European exchanges.”
“CGML’s deficiencies in its transaction controls, particularly the lack of specific preventative hard blocks and improper coordination of other controls, contributed to this incident,” the statement said.
In a statement to CNBC, a Citi spokesperson said they were pleased to resolve the issue, which occurred more than two years ago. “This issue resulted from an isolated error that was identified within minutes. and has been corrected.”
“We immediately took steps to strengthen our systems and controls and remain committed to ensuring full regulatory compliance,” the spokesperson said.
