Barclays Fined $1 Million for Publishing Inaccurate Index Returns
Barclays Capital Inc. (Barclays) of New York submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Department of Enforcement of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for allegedly knowingly publishing inaccurate index returns for approximately eight months. Barclays, a large full service broker dealer and bank stationed in New York, faced similar allegations in 2011 for allegedly posting inaccurate delinquency rates. FINRA found that Barclays, from November 2010 through February 20, 2014, published “material inaccurate coupon return information” in connection to the firm’s Pan Euro ABS Floating Rate Index (Index). FINRA found that the false publications began in November 2010 after Barclays changed its method of calculating coupon rates and adopted a new coupon return data provider. Thereafter, FINRA alleged Barclay’s information technology group of London changed the proprietary pricing and valuation system in an effort to improve analytics.
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