The Central Bank of Ireland has imposed a fine of €453,000 ($586,000) on Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Limited (Cantor) for significant breaches of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). This enforcement action, announced on February 25, 2025, is intended by the Central Bank to highlight its commitment to safeguarding the integrity of Irish financial markets.  

The investigation revealed that Cantor failed to report suspicious transactions, lacked effective governance arrangements for detecting and reporting such transactions, and inconsistently documented its analysis of potentially abusive activities.

These failings occurred over a period of more than six years, from March 2017 to June 2023.  

Key breaches

• Failure to report suspicious transactions: The Central Bank identified six specific instances where Cantor’s trade surveillance system flagged potentially suspicious transactions, but the firm failed to submit Suspicious Transaction and Order Reports (STORs). The Central Bank determined that Cantor acted recklessly in these cases.  
• Ineffective STOR Committee: Cantor’s internal STOR Committee, established in 2012, was found to have operated ineffectively. The committee applied “unsound rationales and criteria” in its assessments, set a “higher threshold” than the legal requirement for reporting, and adopted an “inconsistent approach” to evaluating transactions. Furthermore, prior to December 2020, the Head of Compliance did not have a vote within this committee, which undermined the compliance function’s role.  
• Failure to document analysis: Cantor failed to consistently document its analysis of why certain transactions were not deemed suspicious. This lack of record-keeping hindered the Central Bank’s ability to assess the firm’s compliance and undermined the consistency of Cantor’s decision-making process.  
• Failure of brokers to escalate suspicious transactions: The Central Bank found two instances where Cantor brokers failed to escalate suspicious comments made by customers during recorded calls, indicating deficiencies in the firm’s internal monitoring and detection systems.

Central Bank’s stance

Colm Kincaid, the Central Bank’s Director of Enforcement, emphasized the importance of firms’ obligations under MAR. “Under Article 16 of the Market Abuse Regulation, firms are required to identify and report to the Central Bank any suspicious transactions or orders (STORs) that may indicate potential market abuse,” he said.

“This legal requirement is a key safeguard in our system to protect securities markets from abuse and firms must have processes in place that are effective to ensure STORs are reported. The Central Bank has issued clear guidance to firms on this matter and we will continue to enforce compliance with these important requirements.”  

He further highlighted the detrimental impact of market abuse: “Market abuse includes insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation. It erodes confidence in the integrity of markets and has the potential to increase the cost of trading, distort the playing field and undermine fair competition, to the detriment of both investors and firms looking to securities markets to raise necessary funding.”  

The Central Bank initially determined a fine of €647,000 ($837,000), which was reduced by 30% to €453,000 ($586,000) due to Cantor’s settlement with the regulator. Cantor has confirmed that it completed remediation of the identified failings by June 2023.  

Regulatory context

This enforcement action underscores the Central Bank’s ongoing efforts to enforce MAR, which aims to prevent market abuse and maintain the integrity of financial markets. The Central Bank has consistently communicated its expectations to firms regarding market conduct risk and the reporting of suspicious transactions. It has published several industry communications, highlighting the importance of robust trade surveillance and reporting systems.

The Central bank has also outlined its continued concern regarding the quality and quantity of STORs received in its 2022 and 2023 Securities Markets Risk Outlook Reports.  

This outcome, the 159th enforcement action by the Central Bank, brings the total fines imposed to over €407m ($527m), further demonstrating the regulator’s resolve in ensuring compliance and maintaining market integrity. It is expected that all firms should now thoroughly review and enhance their compliance procedures to prevent similar breaches and uphold the standards required by MAR.