Samsung in €270m ‘fat finger’ bungle

Broker Samsung Securities’ woes deepened as South Korea’s biggest pension fund stopped using the broker to trade stocks in the wake of a ‘fat finger’ error that has prompted a huge public outcry and calls for change in the industry.

Anger over the accidental issuance of 2.8 billion shares to employees — more than 30 times the number of its outstanding shares and theoretically worth some €80 billion, has only gained momentum after it was discovered that 16 workers quickly sold off shares.