In the UK today, a representative of the Financial Services Authority told an audience of several hundred compliance officers, law enforcement officers and government officials at the FSA’s annual financial crime conference that institutions involved in takeovers had grown “complacent” with respect to insider trading.
The Guardian reports that Ruth Gevers, manager of FSA’s market conduct team, stated that as an average of 1,000 advisers worked on a typical UK takeover deal, it was vital that controls were strictly adhered to. Gevers said that in many cases they were not, however, and that there “is too much industry complacency.” She added that “[i]t’s a case of people pointing the finger at everybody else. There might be controls but individuals will still leak. Financial firms can do more in internal leak inquiries.” Gevers also re-emphasized the FSA’s new (and well-publicized) determination to bring more insider trading cases to court.
