Washington D.C. – Barclays Bank PLC has agreed to pay a $4 million penalty to settle charges brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for violations of commodity trading regulations. The charges stem from failures in the accurate and timely reporting of swap transactions between 2018 and 2023.
The CFTC order requires Barclays to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and related CFTC regulations. The bank admitted to the facts outlined in the order, acknowledging its conduct was unlawful. Barclays, registered with the CFTC as a swap dealer, failed to correctly report over five million swap transactions during the five-year period.
Specific reporting failures included the use of duplicate swap identifiers, inaccuracies in key economic terms, misreported timestamps, errors in continuation data, and late submissions. These failures represent a significant breach of reporting requirements designed to provide transparency in the swaps market.
“Over the last year, the CFTC has imposed over $60 million in penalties on six registered swap dealers, including Barclays here, in connection with swap data reporting violations,” stated Ian McGinley, Director of Enforcement. “This resolution, which also includes admissions, reflects the division’s ongoing commitment to ensure the costs of violating the law outweigh the costs of compliance.”
The CFTC acknowledged Barclays’ substantial cooperation throughout the investigation, noting the bank proactively identified reporting issues and voluntarily provided detailed information. Barclays also engaged third-party vendors to review and validate its swap reporting processes as part of its remediation efforts. This cooperation and remediation were factors in the reduction of the civil monetary penalty.
Jason T. Wright, A. Daniel Ullman II, Paul G. Hayeck, and former staff member Lauren Bennett of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement led the investigation. The CFTC encourages the public to report suspicious activity or potential violations of commodity trading laws via its toll-free hotline or online complaint system.
Whistleblowers may be eligible for a reward of 10-30% of collected monetary sanctions, paid from the CFTC Customer Protection Fund.
Source: CFTC.gov
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