has been hit with a record $4.995 million fine over failing to stop suspicious orders placed on the electricity futures market.Market Disciplinary Panel has ever seen.
Each order was placed within the final minute of market close, meaning the clients with interest in those contracts manipulated the daily settlement price in a favourable direction. Joe Longo, ASIC chair, said the MDP imposed the record-breaking fine to reflect Macquarie's "serious, prolonged and potential systematic failure" to detect the manipulation of the market."Macquarie is the largest market participant in energy derivatives and given its role as a gatekeeper, it must ensure suspicious orders are not permitted to be placed on our markets," Longo said.
ASIC said the bank should have suspected the 50 orders were submitted with the intention to mislead the market. The MDP found Macquarie "failed to appreciate the seriousness of its obligations" and didn't act promptly or appropriately.