OANDA fined $200,000 by NFA after series of deficiencies

OANDA Corporation has settled charges with the National Futures Association (NFA) relating to a number of compliance failures.

The Toronto-based retail broker has reached a settlement of $200,000 which allows the company to refrain from admitting or denying the allegations of failing to submit accurate daily forex reports to the NFA, and other compliance rules regarding security systems, handling of customer complaints, and appropriate supervision.

Earlier this month (March 8), the NFA issued a complaint against OANDA Corporation and gave the retail FX broker 30 days to respond to the NFA’s complaint.

The broker was facing possible expulsion or suspension from NFA membership, plus a monetary fine not to exceed $500,000 for each violation found, in case OANDA decided to go to court.

The NFA found that ever since OANDA was acquired in 2018 by a subsidiary of a private equity firm (CVC Capital Partners), the broker increased the number and degree of deficiencies occurring at the firm.

On separate occasions, the regulator instructed OANDA to correct the deficiencies and that continued deficiencies could subject the firm to disciplinary action.

Among the deficiencies alleged by the NFA, OANDA staff did not follow protocol and failed to notify OANDA’s AML Compliance Officer and the NFA following the hacking of a customer’s account.

OANDA’s ISSP was insufficient as it did not include numerous required sections, including training, risk assessment, incident response, and access controls. The broker also failed to provide all required employees with training on the ISSP.

Other counts include failures to properly handle customer complaints and inaccurate unrealized profit/loss (UPL) figures in six daily forex reports, as well as failures to diligently supervise its forex business and its employees.