Ireland fines Merrill $4.1 mln for trade incidents

 

Ireland's financial regulator has fined Merrill Lynch International Bank Ltd, a unit of Bank of America Corp, 2.75 million euros ($4.13 million) for two cases of traders inappropriately valuing their positions.

The regulator said the first incident occurred between Dec.2008 and Feb. 2009, resulting in losses to Merrill of $456 million and the second between May and August 2009, resulting ina $5.3 million loss. Both occurred at Merrill's London branch.

"Breaches of regulatory requirements common to both incidents were a failure to have in place a well defined and transparent line of supervisory responsibility; a failure to supervise the trader's activity and an inadequate month-end independent price verification process" the regulator said.

Merrill Lynch has taken complete remedial action to fully rectify the breaches and the matter is now closed, it added.