Massachusetts’ top securities regulator has fined Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) $30 million, after one of its analyst mail secret and unpublished research report regarding a tech sector company to institutional clients, as well as SAC Capital Advisors , a hedge fund Steven A. Cohen, the regulator reveal on Thursday.
Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin, of Massachusetts’, said Kevin Chang, analyst of Citigroup a sent research report regarding Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (TPE:2317), who is a main supplier of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones, to SAC Capital, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW), as well as two private firms Citadel LLC and GLG Partners, Inc. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares down -1.23% to $483.24 in current session.
Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office has revealed that the analyst firm three clients traded in smartphone manufacture stocks between the time they received the report from the analyst and the day his description on the stock was official published.
The statement by regulator also say because of analyst who has to published the report first but has show the details of the report prior to publication, and reveal all the details regarding Smartphone maker’s iPhone production estimates to the four clients.
The report which was based on Hon Hai shipment of iPhone, have major cuts in the company manufacturing numbers and would have a harmful affect on the firm stocks, the regulator revealed.
The Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) spokeswoman has stated that the bank takes the regulatory compliance requirements very seriously and trains all of the bank staff on these responsibilities. The bank is also always making efforts to controls process, develop, monitor and manage the compliance.
The bank has also been criticized and will have to accept a three-year evaluation of its procedures and policies. The latest charges against bank comes nearly a year after it paid $2 million to Massachusetts to resolve allegation that two other analysts of the bank has broke state and federal securities laws by giving out private information regarding Facebook Inc. Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) shares decreased -0.62% to $48.41 in current session.