FCA fines Merrill Lynch record £13m for reporting failures

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has hit Merrill Lynch International (MLI) with the largest ever fine imposed for transaction reporting failures.

The group has been fined £13.2m for incorrectly reporting 35,034,810 transactions and failing to report another 121,387 transactions between November 2007 and November 2014. The regulator said the fine is the highest imposed for transaction reporting failures to date, and its size reflects the severity of MLI's misconduct. The FCA said MLI did not address the root causes of its failings over several years despite substantial FCA guidance to the industry and a poor history of transaction reporting compliance, consisting of a Private Warning issued in 2002 and a fine of £150,000 in 2006...