ASIC has dropped insider trading charges against Westpac
The bank has admitted it broke the law and will pay a $1.8m penalty
Its traders, however, netted $20.7m of profits in Ausgrid related trades
A Federal Court judge has described a $1.8 million penalty agreed with Westpac for trades that netted it more than $20 million in profit as “risible”, after the lender settled an insider trading case brought by the corporate regulator with an admission of unconscionable conduct.
Lawyers for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Westpac appeared in Federal Court on Wednesday to rubber stamp an agreement in relation to the bank’s interest rate trading on October 20, 2016, when the $16 billion privatisation of Ausgrid was announced.
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Jonathan Shapiro writes about banking and finance, specialising in hedge funds, corporate debt, private equity and investment banking. He is based in Sydney. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter. Email Jonathan at jonathan.shapiro@afr.com
