The Central Bank of Bahrain recorded a decline in capital markets misconduct last year, with its Capital Markets Supervision Directorate recording 13 contraventions by listed companies in 2024 — down from 26 in 2023 — according to the regulator's Compliance and Enforcement Annual Report for 2024, published this week.
Separately, enforcement actions following referral to the Enforcement Decision Review Committee (EDRC) fell to three in 2024 from six in 2023. The CBB said the 50% fall in listed companies' contraventions indicated improved adherence by listed companies to the regulatory requirements.
VIOLATIONS SPANNING REPORTING, DISCLOSURE AND MARKET CONDUCT
The non-compliance cases identified across the year covered a range of infractions. The most common contravention by listed companies in 2024 was non-submission of the register of interest (five cases), followed by non-submission of the annual verification report, breaches of disclosure standards and breaches of market abuse rules (two each). For less serious breaches, the CBB issued Non-Compliance Letters rather than escalating matters to the EDRC.
One of the three enforcement actions involved a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) found to be non-compliant with the CBB Law and the requirements set out in the CRA Module. A second case, still under the committee's review, concerned a listed company that failed to notify the CBB of changes in major shareholding.
The CBB's report described the directorate's three-pronged enforcement framework: assessing the gravity of each violation, reviewing the compliance track record of the entity concerned, and instituting remedial measures designed to prevent recurrence.
CBB COMMENTS
The CBB said it would work with stakeholders to further improve compliance standards and reduce recurrences.
The CBB did not disclose the identities of the entities involved in the three escalated enforcement actions.
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