Multinational investment bank Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (Deutsche Bank) has paid a penalty of $2 million for misreporting more than 260,000 over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions, undermining the accuracy of data used to monitor Australia's financial markets.
ASIC issued an infringement notice to Deutsche Bank after identifying breaches of the ASIC Derivative Transaction Rules (Reporting) 2024 (ASIC Rules) between 21 October 2024 and 15 August 2025.
Specifically, ASIC has reasonable grounds to believe that Deutsche Bank failed to take all reasonable steps to accurately report the 'direction' fields data for 20,483 outstanding transactions and 244,091 terminated or matured transactions across 208 separate business days. These transactions related to foreign exchange and commodities OTC transactions.
The direction fields are important mandatory data elements under the ASIC Rules, indicating whether the reporting entity is acting as the effective buyer or seller of a transaction at a specified price.
ASIC considers the direction data reporting failures were systemic and reflected deficiencies in Deutsche Bank's internal reporting framework.
The ASIC Rules require reporting entities to report derivative transaction and position information to derivative trade repositories.
Accurate reporting is necessary to enhance the capacity of regulators to oversee and monitor systemic risk and help detect and prevent potential market abuse.
Deutsche Bank has cooperated with ASIC's investigation, paid the penalty and is implementing measures to prevent further reporting errors.
Compliance with the infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability, and by doing so, Deutsche Bank has not taken to have contravened the ASIC Rules.
Background
Deutsche Bank is a global financial services group providing investment banking, corporate banking, retail banking, asset and wealth management services in 55 countries.
ASIC issued the infringement notice as it had reasonable grounds to believe that Deutsche Bank contravened rule 2.2.6 of the ASIC Rules.
Rule 2.2.6 requires reporting entities to take all reasonable steps to ensure the information reported under subrule 2.2.1(1) is and remains, at all times, complete, accurate and current.
ASIC has previously issued infringement notices for alleged derivative transaction reporting failures against:
- AMP Life Limited and AMP Capital Investors Limited, which paid penalties of $275,500 and $250,500 respectively in March 2020 (20-066MR).
- Westpac Banking Corporation, which paid a penalty of $127,250 for allegedly failing to report around 112,556 reportable transactions in June 2027 (17-208MR).
In these matters, ASIC had reasonable grounds to believe the entities had contravened the ASIC Derivative Transactions (Reporting) Rules 2013 (the former reporting rules). Those matters were considered under the previous penalty regime.
View the Infringement notice on ASIC's Infringement Notices Register.
