FCA fines three broker firms £4,775,200 for failures relating to the detection of market abuse

BGC/GFI failed to properly implement the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) trade surveillance requirements. This meant there was an increased risk that potentially suspicious trading would go undetected.

BGC/GFI are inter-dealer brokers specialising in broking exchange listed and over-the-counter financial products and related derivative products. It is of fundamental importance to the integrity of the market that brokers such as BGC/GFI have effective market abuse surveillance systems in place.

Between July 2016 and January 2018, BGC/GFI had manual, automatic and communications surveillance processes that were deficient, and therefore, inadequate in properly addressing the risk of market abuse. Additionally, BGC/GFI’s systems for monitoring market abuse did not have proper coverage of all asset classes which are subject to MAR.