FSA hands J.P. Morgan Securities record £33.32m fine

The FSA has levied its largest ever fine of £33.32m on J.P. Morgan Securities for client money breaches over a seven-year period.

The regulator says J.P. Morgan Securities was guilty of an error in which it failed to protect client money by segregating it appropriately. Between 1 November 2002 and 8 July 2009, the company failed to segregate the client money held by its futures and options business (F&O) with JPMorgan Chase Bank. Instead of being held overnight in a segregated money market account, J.P. Morgan Securities F&O client money was held in an unsegregated account with JPMorgan Chase bank. This error remained undetected for nearly seven years. Under the FSA's client money rules, firms are requir...