Australian Securities & Investments Commission action leads to Market Disciplinary Panel fining Societe Generale Securities Australia AUD 3.88 million for ASX 24 market gatekeeper failures

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that the Market Disciplinary Panel (MDP) has fined Societe Generale Securities Australia Pty Limited (SocGen) AUD 3.88 million following an ASIC investigation into failures to prevent suspicious client orders in ASX 24 electricity and wheat futures. The MDP found SocGen breached the ASIC Market Integrity Rules (Futures Markets) 2017 by allowing two clients to place 33 suspicious orders between May 2023 and February 2024. The orders were placed within the last two minutes before market close and displayed characteristics of “marking the close”, potentially influencing the daily settlement price for the clients’ benefit; the MDP considered SocGen should have suspected the orders were intended to create a false or misleading appearance in the market. ASIC said it contacted SocGen five times in 2023 about volatility and suspicious orders, but the firm did not take timely and effective action, and the MDP found it was reckless in failing to prevent further suspicious orders; the decision also cited weaknesses in compliance and surveillance capabilities, including training, skills and management oversight. SocGen did not contest the alleged breach, has complied with the infringement notice and paid the penalty; ASIC noted that compliance is not an admission of guilt or liability.