UBS Agrees to $5 Million Settlement with US Commodity Futures Regulator Over Trade Surveillance Claims

UBS Group AG has agreed to pay $5 million to settle claims with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) related to trade surveillance. The CFTC alleged that UBS failed to adequately supervise and monitor its traders, leading to potential market manipulation and other violations. The settlement resolves the claims, but does not imply any admission of wrongdoing by UBS.

UBS Group AG has agreed to pay $5 million to settle claims with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) related to trade surveillance. The CFTC alleged that UBS failed to adequately supervise and monitor its traders, potentially leading to market manipulation and other violations. The settlement resolves the claims but does not imply any admission of wrongdoing by UBS.

The penalties were part of an unusual "enforcement sprint" initiative launched by the CFTC in March 2025 to encourage businesses to quickly and fairly resolve compliance issues without involving market abuse or customer harm [1]. UBS and two of its arms agreed to pay the largest penalty of $5 million for allegedly failing to properly supervise trade surveillance programs from at least 2015 to 2024 [1].

The settlement comes as UBS faces another significant legal issue. The company has reached a $115 million settlement in a derivative action related to its merger with Credit Suisse. The action alleged that former Credit Suisse directors and executives failed to establish effective risk management systems, leading to significant financial losses [2]. The settlement is subject to court approval and may impact UBS's financial and legal standing.

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]. Pham, a former managing director at Citigroup, came up with the enforcement sprint to pursue fraudsters and scammers and seek recoveries for victims [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/