Macquarie fined over futures contract

Macquarie Bank has been fined A$20,000 by Australian regulators for breaking Sydney exchange rules on futures trading.

According to the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE), a Macquarie employee in London created a futures package for an unnamed client that was based on a 'fictional' bond. Macquarie created the fictional bond to avoid market risk, the bank said, but in doing so broke exchange operating rules. It then submitted false information about the deal.

Anne Brown, the SFE's general manager for risk and compliance, said: "Public notification would more effectively reinforce to Macquarie and the market the seriousness with which the [SFE business conduct] committee viewed the incident."

The employee responsible has been reprimanded but not fired, Macquarie said.