FCA Triggers Penalties On Five Banks With £1.1 Billion Fine Whilst Saving a Bullet for Barclays

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its rol The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its rol Read this Term), the UK's financial regulator, has announced fines totaling £1.1 billion ($1.7 billion) for five prominent banks for ineffective controls among foreign Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term traders between January 1, 2008 and October 15, 2013.

The five banks facing fines for "failing to control business practises" in their spot FX trading operations are: Citibank (£226 million), HSBC (£216 million), JP Morgan (£222 million), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) £217 million) and UBS (£233 million).

In a statement the FCA said, "The failings at these Banks undermine confidence in the UK financial system and put its integrity at risk." Furthermore, the FCA intends on "launching an industry-wide remediation programme to ensure firms address the root causes of these failings and drive up standards across the market."

Attentive readers would have noticed the absence of Barclays from the above list of scolded banks. This is because the FCA is applying specific focus and concentration on Barclays... "We will progress our investigation into that firm [Barclays] which will cover its G10 spot FX trading business and also wider FX business areas."

Potentially a scolding of a higher magnitude.

More to follow...