HK SFC hits RBC Investment Services (Asia) with HK$7.7m fine

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded RBC Investment Services (Asia) Limited (RBC) and fined it HK$7.7m after it "failed to segregate client money and transferred client securities without standing authority from the clients, in breach of the Securities and Futures (Client Money) Rules (Client Money Rules) and the Securities and Futures (Client Securities) Rules (Client Securities Rules)."

The SFC referenced failures on 86 occasions between January 2018 to August 2020, involving individual transactions amounts between HK$146 up to HK£52m

The regulator also found that between 3 December 2012 to 26 March 2020, RBC had "breached the Securities and Futures (Client Securities) Rules (Client Securities Rules), by transferring securities from 65 client accounts held by non-professional investor clients to SEHK Options Clearing House Limited as collateral without valid standing authority."

RBC is licensed under the HK Securities and Futures Ordinance to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 2 (dealing in futures contracts), Type 4 (advising on securities) and Type 5 (advising on futures contracts) regulated activities, the SFC announcement on the reprimand and fine stated.

The full statement can be read here: https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/api/news/openAppendix?lang=EN&refNo=22PR53&appendix=0