MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fed fines Goldman Sachs Group for unsound foreign exchange trading

The firm failed to detect and address its traders' use of electronic chat-rooms to communicate with competitors about trading positions, said the Fed report

The United States Federal Reserve Board announced that it has fined The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., US$ 54.75 million for the firm's unsafe and unsound practices in its foreign exchange (FX) trading business.

The Board levied the fine for deficiencies in Goldman's internal controls and oversight of traders who buy and sell U.S. dollars and foreign currencies for the firm's own accounts and for customers.

The firm failed to detect and address its traders' use of electronic chat-rooms to communicate with competitors about trading positions, including around benchmark fixes, and failed to detect and address the disclosure of confidential client information.

The Board's order requires Goldman to improve its controls and compliance risk management for the firm's FX trading.

The Board coordinated its enforcement action with the New York State Department of Financial Services.