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Bank Of America Braced For £10m FCA Fine

Bank Of America Braced For £10m FCA Fine

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) will on Wednesday become the latest Wall Street institution to be fined by the City watchdog for failing to properly report transactions.

Sky News has learnt that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to hit Merrill Lynch International, a BAML subsidiary, with a penalty of more than £10m.

It will be the latest in a string of fines handed out by the FCA to major financial institutions for incorrectly reporting transactions.

Last August, Deutsche Bank was ordered to pay £4.7m over similar offences, while Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was hit with a £5.6m fine in 2013.

Barclays, Commerzbank and Societe Generale are among the other major lenders to have fallen foul of FCA rules on transaction reporting, with the regulator engaging in a determined clampdown on poor practise in the area.

Speaking in relation to the Deutsche Bank fine last year, Tracey McDermott, the FCA director of enforcement and financial crime, said: ''Effective market surveillance is critical to maintain the integrity of our markets and depends on accurate and timely reporting of transactions.

“We have repeatedly highlighted the importance of accurate transaction reporting and taken enforcement action against a number of firms.

“There is simply no excuse for Deutsche's failure to get this right. Other firms should be in no doubt about our continued focus on this issue."

Sources close to the situation confirmed that none of BAML's clients had suffered any financial losses as a consequence of the firm's failings.

A BAML spokesman and the FCA declined to comment on Tuesday.