Bank fined €315k for bond breaches

The Central Bank has fined UniCredit Bank Ireland €315,000 for breaching limits on exposure to Italian and Spanish bonds and contravening limits on exposure to a single client.

IFSC-based UniCredit Bank Ireland is a subsidiary of the Italian bank, UniCredit. The Central Bank found against the firm on three separate charges. Between December 2011 and June 2012, UniCredit was holding Italian bonds in excess of its permitted limits.

Between March and June 2012, the firm was holding Spanish bonds in excess of its permitted limits, and, between November and December 2012, it had exposure to a single client in excess of its permitted limits.

The Central Bank attributed the over-exposure to a single client on ineffective processes and inadequate internal controls.

The contravention of limits on holdings of Italian and Spanish bonds was caused by rating downgrades to both countries during the period.

“These downgrades led to the non-euro denominated sovereign assets being reclassified for the purpose of large exposure requirements. Prior to the downgrades, each of these assets had a risk weighting of 0% but, following the downgrades, the risk weighting moved immediately to 100%. Following notification to the Central Bank, a remediation proposal was made which was ultimately approved,” the Central Bank said in a statement.

In deciding the level of the fine, the Central Bank took into account several factors including the failure to have in place at all times adequate internal controls to ensure adherence to large exposure requirements.

However, UniCredit contacted the Central Bank following the discovery of the breaches and took remedial action in consultation with the Central Bank.

“This is the first settlement by the Central Bank with a firm for breaches of the large exposure limits and the failure to have in place proper internal controls around large exposures,” said Derville Rowland, the Central Bank’s director of enforcement.

“The failure by regulated financial services providers to ensure that they comply with large exposure limits at all times is viewed as a serious matter by the Central Bank given the potential risks to a firm’s stability in the event of an individual or an entity falling into financial difficulty.

“Regulated institutions must have effective processes in place to identify, manage and monitor the level of risk they are exposed to, and proper and effective systems and controls in place to ensure compliance with large exposure limits.

“Where the Central Bank finds evidence of failures in these areas, the Central Bank will continue to use its range of regulatory tools including enforcement.”