Citigroup and UBS Fined $8.3 Million for Compliance Violations

Citigroup and UBS have been fined $8.3 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in compliance settlements. The fines relate to alleged violations of CFTC regulations in the firms' dealings with derivatives. The settlements mark the latest in a series of compliance-related fines for major banks in recent years.

Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG have agreed to pay a combined total of $8.3 million to settle claims from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over compliance-related violations. The settlements, part of the CFTC's "enforcement sprint" initiative, focus on recordkeeping, reporting lapses, and supervision issues in the firms' derivatives dealings.

UBS Group AG paid the largest penalty of $5 million for allegedly failing to properly supervise trade surveillance programs from 2015 to 2024. Citigroup Global Markets, a registered futures commission merchant and swap dealer, will pay $1.5 million to settle claims it failed to file accurate large trader reports and maintain regulatory records. Other firms, including Banco Santander SA and the Bank of New York Mellon, agreed to pay $500,000 each for similar violations.

The firms neither admitted nor denied the CFTC's claims and have completed or nearly completed remediation efforts. The CFTC's "enforcement sprint" initiative aims to encourage businesses to resolve compliance issues efficiently without involving market abuse or customer harm [1].

Separately, UBS Group AG has reached a $115 million settlement in a derivative action related to its merger with Credit Suisse. The settlement, subject to court approval, alleges that former Credit Suisse directors and executives failed to establish effective risk management systems, leading to significant financial losses [2].

The CFTC has since shrunk to one remaining commissioner, Acting Chairman Caroline Pham, who announced she will leave for the private sector once a permanent CFTC chair gets installed [1].

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-05/citi-ubs-resolve-cftc-compliance-claims-in-enforcement-sprint
[2] https://www.ainvest.com/news/ubs-reaches-115m-settlement-credit-suisse-derivative-case-2508/