Degroof Petercam accepts FSMA Settlement Proposal
January 15, 2020
In order to close promptly and definitively a procedure conducted by the FSMA, Degroof Petercam has entered into a settlement agreement proposed by the FSMA under which Degroof Petercam will pay a sum of EUR 100,000, together with a nominative publication of the settlement agreement.
The settlement relates to an investigation into certain transactions executed on Euronext Brussels in 2016 in the context of Degroof Petercam's liquidity-providing activity. The liquidity-providing business consists of promoting the liquidity of shares of listed companies by ensuring regular quotations on the buy and on the sell side.
At the time of the events, the (new) regulation in this respect was not sufficiently clarified and there was no accepted market practice for liquidity providing activities. Therefore, Degroof Petercam considers that it has not deliberately failed to comply with its regulatory obligations. Besides this, Degroof Petercam made only an extremely limited profit from these transactions.
Furthermore, Degroof Petercam fully co-operated with the FSMA investigation and immediately took the necessary measures to prevent any possible breaches in the exercise of its liquidity providing activity.
Degroof Petercam will not comment further on the details of the transaction or the substance of the case.