South Korea’s financial regulator is proposing hefty fines on HSBC Holdings plc (OTC:HBCYF) and BNP Paribas SA (OTC:BNPZY) over allegations of naked short selling, a practice prohibited under the nation’s Capital Markets Act.
What Happened: The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is recommending a minimum fine of 10 billion won ($7.67 million) each for the two banking giants.
The five-member commission, led by FSC vice-chairman Kim So-young, discussed the fines in a meeting on Wednesday but did not reach a final decision. However, they plan to finalize the fines as soon as possible. The final amount may change in future discussions, Bloomberg sources said.
An email sent By Benzinga to HSBC, BNP, seeking comment didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story.
These fines, if ...