78 Citigroup faced a hefty fine of £61.6 million ($78.5 million) from UK regulators due to control failings in its trading operations, marking one of the largest sanctions for system breaches. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigated and penalized Citigroup for these failings, which occurred between April 2018 and May 2022. The regulators highlighted a series of failings at Citigroup Global Markets Limited (CGML), the bank’s London unit, which culminated in trading incidents. The most notable incident involved a mistaken $444 billion order in May 2022. Sam Woods, CEO of the PRA and Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation at the Bank of England, emphasized the necessity for effective controls in trading operations. Woods stated, “CGML failed to meet the standards we expect in this area, resulting in today’s fine.” According to the regulators’ findings, on May 2, 2022, Citi processed a $444 billion order intended to be only $58 million, leading to $1.4 billion in mistaken sell orders. The immediate cause of this trading error was attributed to a trader’s mistake, commonly referred to as a “fat-finger” error. However, primary control failings within Citi’s electronic trading system also contributed to the generation of erroneous orders. The regulators noted that this mistake coincided with a significant short-term movement in several European indices before the trade was ultimately cancelled. You Might Be Interested In SVB Financial to Sell VC Business SVB Capital New York Community Bancorp Acquires Signature Bank’s Assets Valued at $37.8 Billion AbbVie to Strengthen Immunity Illness Drug Pipeline Through Landos Deal Microsoft’s UAE deal could transfer key US chips, and AI technology abroad Google Faces Antitrust Trial Over Alleged Monopoly Practices in Online Advertising NTSB Probes Southwest 737 MAX “Dutch Roll” Incident
