(Updates paragraphs 4-8 with HSBC's response, additional
background and details)
By Chris Prentice
NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - Units of HSBC Holdings Plc have agreed to pay $75 million to settle U.S. Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charges related to
manipulative and deceptive trading and record-keeping failures,
the regulator said on Friday.
HSBC Bank USA agreed to pay a $45 million civil penalty for
manipulative and deceptive trading in connection with swaps,
spoofing and record-keeping failures, CFTC said in a statement.
HSBCA Bank USA, HSBC Bank Plc and HSBC Securities admitted
to charges related to record-keeping and supervision failures
and agreed to pay $30 million to settle them, the regulator said
in a separate statement.
"In recent years, we have made significant investments in
enhancing our compliance procedures and have worked diligently
to maintain the highest standards for professional conduct
throughout our organization," an HSBC spokesperson said in an
emailed statement.
Regulators found that HSBC traders engaged in manipulative
and deceptive trading in interest rate swaps and other financial
products. In some instances, bank supervisors were aware of the
conduct and in one instance a senior manager directed the
wrongdoing, the CFTC's order said.
HSBC did not admit or deny those charges, which were alleged
to have taken place from March 2012 to April 2016.
HSBC also failed to stop employees, including senior staff
and compliance personnel, from discussing work via personal text
and WhatsApp, CFTC said. The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission slapped HSBC with a penalty for related charges on
Thursday.
Regulators have been targeting registered dealers for use of
personal devices, saying that failure to maintain records can
thwart oversight and investigations into potential wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
