Capital.com NewsSwiss bank UBS has been fined US $8m (£6.4m) in Singapore after investigations showed that it deceived clients over prices for bonds and structured products.
Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said UBS had reported malpractices by a number of client advisers in 2016.
Trade UBS Group AG - UBSG CFD
An investigation found that advisers in Singapore either did not adhere to the spread or interbank price agreed with the client, failed to disclose or made only partial disclosures when a limit order’s interbank prices improved, or overcharged clients.
“The client advisers’ actions were possible because OTC [over-the-counter] product prices were not readily accessible to clients for them to verify against the transacted prices advised by UBS,” MAS said.
Investigations into those involved in the misconduct continue, it added, saying that UBS will compensate all affected clients managed by its Singapore branch as part of the civil penalty settlement.
UBS said in an emailed statement that the latest development resolves the matter that the bank had identified itself and reported to regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore.
“The self-reporting included a plan to fully reimburse the affected wealth management clients and is limited to a very small percentage of all transactions processed through the bank's order processing system during this period," it said.
The Singapore regulator’s statement follows reports that the UBS’s Hong Kong operation was fined HK$400m (US$52m) after investigations found that the bank had overcharged clients over almost ten years.
Editorial credit: Shutterstock
