LONDON, Feb 23 (IFR) - Britain's financial regulator hasfined broker and wealth manager WH Ireland £1.2m and blocked itfrom taking on new corporate broking clients for more than twomonths for having deficient controls to prevent market abuse.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said between Januaryand June 2013, WH Ireland failed to ensure it had the propersystems and controls in place to prevent market abuse beingdetected or occurring.
It did not have controls in place to prevent insideinformation leaking, had inadequate personal account dealingrules for employees, and failed to maintain an effective writtenconflicts of interest policy, the FCA said.
It also had deficient compliance oversight, including theabsence of a formal risk management framework for market abuseand inadequate post-trade surveillance systems.
The FCA said WH Ireland had been restricted for 72 days fromtaking on new clients in its corporate broking division.
At the time the failings took place, WH Ireland had about9,000 private wealth clients with about £2.5bn of assets undermanagement. It also had 87 corporate broking clients.
It said the failings were identified by a skilled personappointed by the FCA in a report of August 2013. (Reporting by Steve Slater)