FCA fines BNY Mellon £126m for custody failings

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined BNY Mellon £126m for failing to comply with rules ensuring the safe custody of client assets.

The bank was found to be in breach of the FCA Client Assets Sourcebook, which aims to protect safe custody assets if a firm becomes insolvent and to ensure those assets can be returned to clients as quickly and easily as possible. The FCA has fined both the London (BNYMLB) and the international branches (BNYMIL) of the company for failing to comply with the rules between 1 November 2007 and 12 August 2013. During the period of the breaches, the safe custody asset balances held by BNYMLB and BNYMIL peaked at approximately £1.3trn and £236bn respectively, making the firms systematically...