October 1, 2019

CFTC Charges NatWest Markets Plc with Submitting Inaccurate Large Trader Reports for Physical Commodity Swap Positions 

Washington, DC — On Monday, September 30, 2019, the CFTC filed and settled charges against NatWest Markets Plc, formerly The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, a provisionally registered swap dealer, for failing to comply with its obligations to submit to the Commission accurate large trader reports (LTRs) for physical commodity swap positions, as required under Part 20 of the Commission’s regulations.  According to the order, all or nearly all of the LTRs NatWest submitted to the Commission from July 2012 to June 2017 contained inaccuracies. 

The order specifically finds that from July 2012 to June 2017, NatWest submitted LTRs that contained millions of errors in required data fields.  These errors fell into dozens of categories, including missing data presented in a format inconsistent with CFTC requirements.

The CFTC order imposes an $850,000 civil monetary penalty on NatWest, among other sanctions.  The order recognizes that the civil monetary penalty was reduced in light of NatWest’s cooperation and substantial remediation.  

The Division of Market Oversight staff members who assisted with this matter are Owen Kopon, Kristin Liegel, and Jennifer Newman.

The Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Gabriella Geanuleas, Candice Aloisi, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal M. Sultan. 

-CFTC-