Hong Kong’s markets watchdog has fined Hang Seng Bank HK$66.4 million (US$8.5 million) for regulatory failures and overcharging clients.
Hang Seng Bank made at least HK$22.4 million in excess fees from these transactions.
“[Hang Seng’s] misconduct in these cases was serious and systemic,” Christopher Wilson, the SFC’s executive director of enforcement, said in a statement. “In particular, clients who declared making investment decisions themselves were in fact repeatedly solicited by [Hang Seng’s] relationship managers to engage in frequent and excessive CIS transactions.”
The disciplinary action stemmed from a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) investigation, which revealed a range of concerns regarding Hang Seng’s sale of CIS products from June 2016 to November 2017, according to the SFC’s statement.
The SFC said that 111 client accounts were found to have executed 100 or more CIS transactions during the period. While most transactions were declared as the client’s “own choice”, some 46 clients had been influenced by their relationship managers’ solicitation or recommendation in their trades, according to the statement.
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