The Financial Services Commission said in a statement released on Thursday the firm had distorted stock prices with artificial factors, such as orders on the condition of "immediate or cancel" and by filling gaps in bid prices.
The firm carried out such trading on an average of 1,422 stocks per day from Oct. 2017 to May 2018, totalling more than 500 billion won worth of trades, according to the statement. The Commission said it was the first time it had imposed fines on such high-frequency trading on the South Korean stock market, which has a high proportion of retail investors and little competition among algorithmic traders.The regulator declined to identify the brokerage in violation but Citadel Securities confirmed it had been awaiting a decision, although it had yet to hear directly from the Commission.
"Citadel Securities works diligently to follow all applicable laws, regulations, and rules in jurisdictions in which we trade," it said in a statement. "We strongly believe our trading complied with both Korean laws and global norms. We disagree with the FSC’s decision relating to our trading activity more than five years ago and will be seeking to appeal the decision."
Citadel Securities was surprised and concerned to see that the regulator's findings include references to a number of hearings the firm itself was not invited to participate in and supposed expert evidence that was never shared with the company and that it never had an opportunity to respond to, a source familiar with the situation said.
makes billions, fined for millions. good deal
SECGov GaryGensler, what do you think they are doing here ? Come on, Gary.
AMCbiggums That fine I’m suspecting is way to low for what they probably did. Sounds like a small traffic ticket for going 1,000 mph to me.
money gets stolen and he gets they get fined smh. They been in this business for years, where's the investigation?
Good to see regulators holding companies accountable for any breaches in stock trading algorithms, it helps maintain fair markets for all investors.
....hmmm... I thought Citadel had a majority stake in South Korea....whadayano