Introduction 1. The £7.6m fine recently meted out to Standard Bank was accompanied by a self-congratulatory press release by the regulator heralding new firsts. 2. It was apparently the first AML case brought with respect to commercial banking and first AML case to use the new FCA penalty regime which applies to breaches committed from […]

1. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Standard Bank PLC (Standard Bank) £7,640,400 for failings relating to its anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures over corporate customers connected to politically exposed persons (PEPs). 2. This is the first AML case the FCA, or its predecessor the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has brought focused on […]

The FCA has fined State Street UK £22.9 million (including a 30 per cent discount for early settlement) for failing to comply with Principles 3, 6 and 7 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses during the period 1 January 2010 to 30 September 2011 (the relevant period). The FCA found that, during the relevant period, […]

The FCA has fined JLT Specialty Limited (“JLT”) £1.8 million (Stage 1: 30% discount) for a breach of Principle 3 (management and control). The failure comes from what it [FCA] describes as JLT’s failure to conduct adequate due diligence when making payments to overseas third parties that introduced business to JLT; its failure  to assess […]

Axa Wealth Services (Axa) was today fined £1.8m for giving poor investment advice to elderly and inexperienced customers, even though only 82 people complained. So what went wrong? The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found in a review that poor investment advice at three regional branches of Axa’s bancassurance business led vulnerable investors to buy products […]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Axa Wealth Services £1.8m for failing to ensure it gave suitable investment advice to its customers. The FCA said the firm’s failings put a “significant number” of customers at risk of buying unsuitable products. In addition to the fine, Axa has agreed to contact all customers who may […]

The FCA has fined Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Ltd (GT Bank) £525,000 (including a 30 per cent discount for early settlement) for failings in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls for high risk customers between May 2008 and June 2010 in breach of Principle 3 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses and the Senior Management Arrangements, […]

On 8 August 2013 the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) issued a Final Notice against Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited (“GTBUK”), the fifth in a series of cases arising from the FSA’s 2010 thematic review of banks’ management of higher money laundering risk situations. GTBUK was fined £525,000 (after the application of a 30% early settlement […]