Hong Kong regulators fined UBS Group AG 400 million Hong Kong dollars ($51 million) for overcharging global wealth management clients during almost a decade and flagged concerns about serious and systematic problems with the bank’s internal controls.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) found that UBS systematically overcharged private banking clients by manipulating the price on bond and structured product trades between 2008 to 2015, according to a statement from the regulator. UBS also charged some clients too much in fees between 2008 and 2017, the authorities said.
To hide the charges, UBS sometimes falsified account statements by misreporting the spread amounts for the trades, according to the statement.
“Although each overcharge represented a fraction of each trade, UBS’s misconduct involved deception and a pervasive abuse of trust resulting in significant additional revenue for UBS to which it is not entitled,” SFC’s Chief Executive Officer Ashley Alder said in the statement.
No Comments