Goldman Sachs has been dealt a £34.3 million penalty by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as a result of historic reporting failures at its London unit.
The FCA identified “serious and prolonged failures” in its reporting of transactions over the course of 10 years.
The fine is the largest the city watchdog has imposed thus far, in relation to transaction reporting shortcomings as determined under the European Mifid legislation.
Mark Steward, the head of enforcement at the FCA, commented on the decision: “The failings in this case demonstrate a failure over an extended period to manage and test controls that are vitally important to the integrity of our markets. These were serious and prolonged failures. We expect all firms will take this opportunity to ensure they can fully detail their activity and are regularly checking their systems so any problems are detected and remedied promptly, unlike in this case.”
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs issued a statement addressing the penalty:
“We are pleased to have resolved this legacy matter. We dealt with the issues proactively at the time and have made significant investments across the period to develop and enhance our reporting procedures.”
Because Goldman Sachs cooperated with the FCA’s proceedings, the bank received a 30% discount on the fine, otherwise the fine would have totalled £49,063,900.
Shares in the investment bank (NYSE:GS) are currently steady during pre-market trading as of 13:04PM (GMT).
