The Central Bank has fined stockbroker Goodbody €1.225 million for breaches of its obligations under EU regulations on market abuse.

The fine came after an investigation by the regulator found that Goodbody had failed to put in place an effective surveillance framework to monitor, detect, and report suspicious orders and transactions from July 2016 to January 2022.

The Central Bank said that Goodbody had admitted to the breach.

Under article 16 (2) of the Market Abuse Regulations (MAR), firms that professionally arrange or execute transactions must establish and maintain effective “arrangements, systems and procedures to detect and report suspicious orders and transactions”.

The Central Bank’s fine of €1.75 million was reduced by 30% due to a settlement discount.

2020 review

“Effective trade surveillance facilitates the submission of high-quality Suspicious Transaction Order Reports (STORs) by firms to the Central Bank, which assist in the detection and combatting of market abuse,” said Seána Cunningham (director of enforcement and anti-money-laundering, Central Bank).

She added that the regulator had first identified the failings during a review in 2020.

“This investigation found that Goodbody’s trade surveillance did not operate effectively in respect of risk identification, risk monitoring, and governance arrangements, which in turn undermined its ability to detect and report suspected market abuse,” Cunningham stated.

Goodbody has told the Central Bank that it has now addressed the issues identified in the investigation.