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HSBC Fined by FSA for Faulty Transaction Reporting

British regulatory board, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), fined HSBC Bank plc $177,330 (£100,000) for filing inaccurate transaction reports.

HSBC’s retail stock brokerage division, HSBC Stockbroker Services, committed the error when the FSA requested specific trading information from HSBC in July, which when reviewed was revealed to be reported incorrectly.

The transaction reporting system used by HSBC recorded the transaction as a sale by the client prior to a positive announcement and as a purchase after the announcement. According the FSA, HSBC was incorrectly reporting transactions from the client’s perspective, rather than the perspective of HSBC. The inaccuracies were related predominantly to transactions in UK equities.

The FSA maintains a database of market transactions, which are reviewed to monitor misconduct and breaches to the rules of the FSA Handbook. The regulator did not find the transgression indicative of intentional harm or wrongdoing by HSBC.

The FSA has previously fined Bear Stearns $70,932 (£40,000) and UBS $177,330 (£100,000) for inaccuracies in transaction reporting.

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