According to the MDP, the two deposits went into a non-segregated house account on 10 and 11 October 2012 respectively, but were not transferred to the correct segregated accounts until 25 October 2012.
The transfer to the correct accounts occurred after a Macquarie delegate noted the discrepancy and escalated it to senior management, the MDP said.
The panel determined that Macquarie had twice breached Market Integrity Rules and the breaches were particularly serious since they related to client money segregation.
“The misconduct transpired over an unacceptable length of time,” the MDP noted, adding that “the potential loss to the Macquarie client, in the event of Macquarie's insolvency, was real and significant for a period of around 10 business days.
“The breaches were indicative of a systemic compliance failure in this instance, regarding the systems and controls Macquarie had in place to identify, escalate and rectify the error in relation to the Macquarie client's money, and not as a whole in relation to its handling of client funds,” the MDP said.
The panel further noted that Macquarie had self-reported the breaches to ASIC, undertaken remedial steps, co-operated with ASIC and agreed not to contest the matter, thereby saving time and costs that would otherwise have been expended.
The MDP acknowledged that Macquarie had a minimal history of non-compliance, including no previous contraventions found against the bank by the MDP.
