Petra Capital Fined By Australian Watchdog Over Repeated Regulatory Data Reporting Failures

Australian regulators have fined Sydney-based stockbroking firm Petra Capital Pty Ltd A$205,350 after identifying thousands of breaches related to inaccurate regulatory data reporting. The penalty was imposed by the Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP) following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The MDP found that Petra Capital failed to provide accurate client reference information on more than 3,600 occasions, breaching market integrity rules that require consistent and reliable regulatory reporting. Client reference information is a unique identifier used by regulators to track trading activity and monitor market behaviour. Due to inconsistencies in how this data was submitted, a single client appeared as multiple separate clients in regulatory reports on 3,632 occasions.

According to ASIC, the issue stemmed from a system update implemented by Petra Capital, which affected the firm’s reporting processes between 3 March 2022 and 5 December 2023. During this period, the reporting errors impacted a total of 14,741 trades. The MDP concluded that the firm’s failures were the result of carelessness rather than deliberate misconduct, but noted that Petra Capital should have taken stronger steps to ensure its systems complied with regulatory requirements.

In its decision, the MDP stressed that the accurate and consistent submission of regulatory data is a core obligation for market participants. Such data plays a critical role in ASIC’s market surveillance activities, including the detection of potential misconduct such as market manipulation and insider trading. Inaccurate client reference information can undermine regulators’ ability to identify trading patterns and connections between market participants.

ASIC and the MDP used the case to reiterate broader expectations for firms operating in Australian financial markets. Market participants are reminded to review and test their reporting systems at least annually, particularly after system changes or updates. Regulators also emphasised the importance of involving compliance staff in technical reporting processes and not relying solely on external service providers without conducting independent checks.

Petra Capital is a small institutional stockbroking firm providing services to wholesale clients and ASX-listed companies, and is a market participant of both ASX Limited and Cboe Australia Limited. The firm has paid the penalty issued under the infringement notice. Compliance with the notice does not constitute an admission of guilt or liability under the Corporations Act 2001.