Claire Cross comments on ex-Bank of America trader fined for market abuse in Bloomberg

Ex-Bank of America Trader Fined $79,500 for Market Abuse

A former Bank of America Corp. bond trader was fined 60,000 pounds ($79,500) by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for market abuse in the trading of Dutch State Loans.

Paul Walter made 22,000 euros ($25,900) for his trading book by creating a false and misleading impression of supply and demand on 12 occasions in July and August 2014, the FCA said Wednesday. While the regulator found the 47-year-old didn’t realise his behaviour was illegal, it said he was negligent in not knowing.

“This case is another example of the FCA’s drive toward personal accountability,” said Claire Cross, a former FCA lawyer who now works at Corker Binning. “It is easy for the regulator to take this stance where there has been clear, flagrant abusive behaviour, but it will be of interest to see where the FCA draws the line when the behaviour is more nuanced.”

Read the full article in Bloomberg here.