The Swiss Stock Exchange fined Swissquote for a negligent breach of ad hoc disclosure rules. For the online bank, the preliminary investigations took too long.
In concluding a comprehensive investigation, the sanction commission of the Swiss stock exchange SIX fined online bank Swissquote 75,000 Swiss francs ($80,450), according to a statement Friday.
The investigation was triggered because of the dissemination of a June 16, 2021 announcement that Swissquote expected record second-half results due to «outstanding growth.» While the press release was communicated to Six Exchange Regulation (SER) and Swiss and international media in a timely matter, it was delayed to people registered on the Swissquote portal.
An investigation was initiated nearly a year later on June 2, 2022, by SER and referred to the sanctions commission upon completion.
Broad Distribution
Because the June 16 press release was widely distributed, the sanctions commission found Swissquote's violations were not as severe as SER's assessment.
As a result, the fine was reduced from the initial 125,000 francs by the sanction commission. The commission also criticized in its decision SER taking almost a year to open the formal investigation.
The decision of the commission brings the case to a close and details will soon be made available on the SER website in anonymized form.
