UBS unit fined $3.75M for options trading reporting violations

UBS Securities, the investment bank division of Swiss banking giant UBS, agreed to pay $3.75 million to settle allegations brought by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that its failure to adequately supervise compliance staff led to millions of violations of options trading reporting requirements.

UBS Securities was obligated under FINRA rules to reasonably investigate possible rule violations and address them, the self-regulatory organization said in a consent order Thursday.

UBS’s failure to adequately investigate red flags led to 7.1 million violations of FINRA options reporting rules between January 2010 and September 2021, according to the order. The alleged lapses included large options position report (LOPR) alerts not being investigated or addressed.