The FCA has today fined Dinosaur Merchant Bank Limited £338,000 for failings related to its handling of sophisticated CFD investments (contracts for difference).
The regulator said there were evident market abuse surveillance failures at Dionsaur Merchant Bank (DMBL).
The bank was fined £338,000 for failing to put in place effective systems and controls to "detect and report suspicious trading" in its formerly booming contracts for difference (CFD) business.
The FCA said CFDs are sophisticated financial products used to speculate on assets going up or down in value. The regulator said that given their high-risk nature, firms must have "strong and reliable" surveillance arrangements to prevent insider dealing and market manipulation.
In June 2024, City of London-based DMBL introduced a new order system that led to rapid growth in CFD trading by clients.
Between June and October 2024, trades with a corresponding asset value of approximately £2.27bn were executed via the platform. However, the orders and trades were not captured and reviewed by the automated surveillance system which meant that potential market abuse could have gone undetected, according to the watchdog.
Although DMBL identified this issue in October 2024, the firm failed to properly address the deficiencies until May 2025. The delay limited the firm’s ability to identify and report potentially suspicious trading, the FCA said.
Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: "DMBL’s failures had the potential to undermine the integrity of the market. Firms must ensure they have effective surveillance arrangements in place. We will continue to take action where this is not the case."
DMBL cooperated with the FCA investigation and qualified for a 30% discount on its fine which would have been £482,900.
The firm stopped selling CFDs in May 2025.
Dinosaur Merchant Bank provides a range of services including institutional investment services, investment banking, asset management, wealth advisory and trading.