SFC, Hong Kong levies HKD 40000 fine on ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank Ltd has announced that the Bank respects the decision of the Eastern Magistrate's Court, Hong Kong, in respect of the summons issued by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hong Kong. SFC has charged that the Bank carried on the business of dealing in securities in Hong Kong between June 15, 2004 and March 08, 2006, without having a license to do so. The Bank has been fined HKD 40,000 (USD 5,120 - INR 2.2 lakh) and ordered to further reimburse investigation costs to the SFC.

The Bank regrets the occurrence of this incident involving its Hong Kong branch and certain of its current and former employees. The Bank had at all times acted in good faith based on its understanding of professional advice it had received. The Bank had never authorised violation of law and does not condone any contravention of applicable laws in the conduct of its business. The Bank expects and requires the highest standards of ethical conduct, and legal and regulatory compliance from its staff. The Bank has therefore, based on the findings of an internal review conducted upon the discovery of this incident in April 2006, taken appropriate staff accountability actions against the relevant staff whose conduct resulted in the contravention.

The Bank has since implemented significant measures to strengthen the compliance, monitoring and control functions at the Hong Kong Branch which included bringing in a new management team in early 2006, under the leadership of Mr. Madhav Kalyan. Mr. Kalyan was earlier the Bank's Chief Representative and Country Manager at its Representative Office in New York. The Hong Kong Branch has implemented a more robust compliance framework to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in the conduct of its business in Hong Kong.

The contravention was limited to a small segment of the branch's business in Hong Kong and has not resulted in any loss either to the Bank's customers or to the Bank. Since May 2006, the existing customers concerned have been serviced directly by the Head Office. This incident does not and would not have any effect on the overall operations or the soundness of the Bank. The Hong Kong Branch continues to conduct its business and operations in Hong Kong in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations

The Bank is India's second largest bank and the largest private sector bank with total assets of over Rs 2958.32 billion (US$ 67 billion) as on December 31, 2006 including Rs 1968.92 billion (US$ 44.5 billion) in deposits. The Bank has long term plans for its operations in North and East Asia with Hong Kong being the hub of these operations.

The Bank has extended and continues to extend its fullest cooperation and support to the regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and reaffirms its long-term commitment to its business in Hong Kong.

Source : Equity Bulls

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