An employee of a large Swiss bank has been fined and reprimanded for negligence in handling orders of a client.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has reprimanded UBS employee Winnie Pang Wai Yan and fined her HK$120,000 ($15,483) for negligence in handling a client’s trade orders.

In December 2009 a client of UBS wanted to sell his shares in a stock to an identified buyer at agreed amounts and prices through manual cross trades. Instead of this, Pang coordinated with the buyer to conduct a series of on-exchange matched trades between 3 and 8 December 2009, the organisation said in as statement.

The regulator found that in handling the client’s orders, Pang did not exercise sufficient care in making enquiries in relation to the relevant transactions to ascertain the client’s intention; report the matter to the compliance department of UBS; refrain from acting on the clients instructions before she was satisfied that the orders and their execution did not affect the best interests and integrity of the market.

In deciding the disciplinary sanction, the SFC took into account factors including Pang’s financial situation; that Pang did not make any personal benefit out of the transactions in question; that there is insufficient evidence to prove that trades were carried out with manipulative intent; that the matched trades had minimal impact on the nominal price of the stock; that Pang co-operated with the SFC and that Pang has an otherwise clean disciplinary record with the SFC.

UBS declined to comment on the matter when contacted by this organisation.