Barclays Fined $350K for Lapses in Market Access Controls

by Arnab Shome
  • It has already agreed to pay the penalty imposed by FINRA.
  • The failure impacted thousands of executed orders.
Barclays
Barclays

Wall Street giant, Barclays is facing a censure order and a monetary fine of $350,000 from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulatory body in the United States.

The investment bank was accused of failing to apply market access controls and procedures to orders routed by one of its risk management systems between February 2014 and March 2019. It mistakenly treated that system as not having order entry and execution capabilities and, thereby, violating multiple regulatory rules.

The failure in the application of market access controls resulted in the routing of approximately 19,500 orders for 2,500,000 contracts to the market unchecked, of which approximately 9,500 orders for 1,125,000 contracts were executed. Additionally, it did not prevent the entry of erroneous orders totalling $11.8 million, rather than the intended $118,000.

The bank has already accepted FINRA’s order but did not accept or deny any of the allegations. After the settlement , the regulator cannot take further action against Barclays for the same charges.

Another Wall Street Giant

Barclays is a big name in the global investment banking business. But, it is not new to regulatory penalties. It settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2016 for a $35 million fine for several violations, including a severe one related to the firm’s capital and credit threshold controls. Again in 2017, it paid a total penalty of $105,000 to multiple exchanges for Market Access Rule Violations.

FINRA has become one of the vigilant agencies in the United States and is regularly flagging the lapses of financial institutions. Within the two months of the ongoing year, the supervisor fined Morgan Stanley-owned E*TRADE $350,000 and a former AML Compliance Officer (AMLCO) of Interactive Brokers for severe lapses in performing his duties.

Wall Street giant, Barclays is facing a censure order and a monetary fine of $350,000 from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulatory body in the United States.

The investment bank was accused of failing to apply market access controls and procedures to orders routed by one of its risk management systems between February 2014 and March 2019. It mistakenly treated that system as not having order entry and execution capabilities and, thereby, violating multiple regulatory rules.

The failure in the application of market access controls resulted in the routing of approximately 19,500 orders for 2,500,000 contracts to the market unchecked, of which approximately 9,500 orders for 1,125,000 contracts were executed. Additionally, it did not prevent the entry of erroneous orders totalling $11.8 million, rather than the intended $118,000.

The bank has already accepted FINRA’s order but did not accept or deny any of the allegations. After the settlement , the regulator cannot take further action against Barclays for the same charges.

Another Wall Street Giant

Barclays is a big name in the global investment banking business. But, it is not new to regulatory penalties. It settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2016 for a $35 million fine for several violations, including a severe one related to the firm’s capital and credit threshold controls. Again in 2017, it paid a total penalty of $105,000 to multiple exchanges for Market Access Rule Violations.

FINRA has become one of the vigilant agencies in the United States and is regularly flagging the lapses of financial institutions. Within the two months of the ongoing year, the supervisor fined Morgan Stanley-owned E*TRADE $350,000 and a former AML Compliance Officer (AMLCO) of Interactive Brokers for severe lapses in performing his duties.

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
  • 6244 Articles
  • 79 Followers
About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He entered the industry covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates and later expanded his reach to forex as well. He is passionate about the changing regulatory landscape on financial markets and keenly follows the disruptions in the industry with new-age technologies.
  • 6244 Articles
  • 79 Followers

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