FSA fines up 53% in value

by Gill Montia

Story link: FSA fines up 53% in value

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) imposed fines totalling £34.8 million in 2009, penalties having increased 53% on a year earlier.

According to research from law firm, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), the average fine per firm stood at £891,000, compared with £453,000 in 2008, and eight financial services companies faced fines of £1 million plus.

However, the regulator succeeded in a crackdown that punished only 39 firms, down from 50 a year earlier.

Commenting on the size of recent fines, PRC partner Steven Francis comments that some people are suspicious of “grandstanding” by the FSA.

He adds: “If the FSA continues to rack up the pain against the financial services sector then at some point the sector will become scared of its own shadow and that can’t be a good thing for London.”

Last week, the regulator handed down a £7 million penalty to Toronto Dominion Bank for repeated systems and controls failings around the pricing of sophisticated financial products at its London branch.