Norway's Financial Supervisory Authority issued an administrative fine of NOK 50 million, equivalent to approximately €4.3 million, to Danske Bank on 22 January 2025. The sanction relates to violations of the rules prohibiting market manipulation and relates to Danske Bank's role in a 2023 bond issue, in which the FSA found the bank drove a swap rate up to an abnormal or artificial level at the time of pricing. Danske Bank confirmed the fine in a press release published on 22 January, acknowledging the action taken by Finanstilsynet, Norway's financial regulator.
The enforcement measure is separate from the Danish bank's money laundering case connected to its Estonian branch, which was resolved through settlements with US and Danish authorities in December 2022.
NATURE OF THE CONDUCT IDENTIFIED
Market manipulation rules prohibit conduct that creates false or misleading signals regarding the supply, demand, or price of financial instruments traded on organised markets, or that secures prices at artificially distorted levels through abusive trading practices. Norway's Finanstilsynet found that Danske Bank's conduct in its Norwegian operations fell within this prohibited category.
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