Credit Suisse fined £5.6m by Financial Services Authority

The regulator said the firm had failed to conduct its business with due skill, care and diligence and failed to organise and control their business effectively.

It said Credit Suisse announced its financial results for 2007 on February 12, 2008. On February 19, Credit Suisse announced that it had identified mismarking and pricing errors by a small number of traders and that it was repricing certain asset-backed securities. The re-pricing involved a write down of revenues by $2.65bn (£1.41bn).

The FSA said the breaches related to the pricing of certain asset-backed securities held by Credit Suisse.

FSA director of enforcement Margaret Cole said: "The penalty reflects our tougher stance on enforcement and our policy of imposing higher penalties to achieve credible deterrence.

"It is imperative, particularly in more challenging financial conditions, that firms have in place appropriate systems and controls to manage their risks."

She added: "The sudden and unexpected announcement of the write down had the potential to undermine market confidence."

FSA said Credit Suisse had co-operated fully with its investigation and had agreed to settle at an early stage in the process.

It said the firm had also commissioned a detailed review of the causes of the write down – and had undertaken a comprehensive remedial programme.