Sanctions slow and low for repeat offender CommSec
Numerous breaches by Commonwealth Securities dating from 2013 and 2014 have finally been resolved, and publicised, by the Markets Disciplinary Panel.CommSec, a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank, paid a penalty of A$700,000 to comply with two infringement notices and voluntarily refunded $1.1 million in brokerage to more than 25,000 clients, ASIC said on Friday."The contraventions resulted from multiple, overlapping, systemic issues and poor internal procedures within CommSec for ensuring compliance with the relevant market integrity rules and to detect any breaches and remedy them promptly," the MDP wrote in an infringement notice."CommSec's auditors considered the breach to be significant and reported itto ASIC", the MDP said.?Commonwealth Bank also said it notified the regulator in 2013.CommSec refunded the $1.1 million in brokerage and notified clients about the lack of disclosure in late 2014 and 2015.?The MDP wrote that "this is the fifth occasion on which the MDP has found that CommSec has not complied with the market integrity rules. "Since 2008, CommSec has also been sanctioned on three occasions by the ASX Disciplinary Tribunal for non-compliance with the ASX Market Rules and on one occasion before ASX Compliance for non-compliance with the ASX Settlement Operating Rules."The MDP also said that "ASIC also accepted an enforceable undertaking from CommSec on 17 December 2013, which related to concerns that ASIC held that CommSec may not have complied with its obligations in relation to the handling of client money under the Act."