Saxo Bank Fined €1 Million by AMF Over Compliance Failures During IT Migration

France‘s financial regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has imposed a €1 million penalty on Saxo Bank A/S for serious compliance breaches linked to its integration of BinckBank’s French operations. The issues stem from a large-scale IT migration that took place in late 2020, impacting tens of thousands of clients and triggering forced liquidations for some.

IT System Migration Sparked Investor Losses

The AMFs investigation revealed that Saxo Bank migrated over 55,000 client accounts to a new trading infrastructure during a two-weekend transition period. However, five clients suffered direct financial losses as a result of the platform change, primarily due to differences in margin calculation methods and position liquidation procedures.

The regulator concluded that Saxo Bank failed to provide timely and detailed disclosures about these operational changes. Affected clients were not adequately informed about the new mechanisms for closing positions, which led to confusion, missed opportunities, and, in some cases, unexpected forced closures.

Lapses in Client Communication and Regulatory Cooperation

Beyond technical migration issues, the AMF criticized Saxo Bank for its poor communication with clients, particularly regarding changes to French equity savings plan (PEA) transfers. Customers reportedly received vague timelines and had to file complaints before receiving meaningful updates.

The regulator also noted that Saxo Bank provided delayed and incomplete documentation during an official audit conducted between April and October 2022. The lack of transparency and audit cooperation was deemed inconsistent with regulatory expectations for professional conduct and internal governance.

Long-Term Consequences for Saxo Bank

In addition to the financial penalty, the AMF ordered the public release of its decision without redaction. The enforcement notice will remain accessible on the regulators website for five years. Saxo Bank has also been instructed to cover the full cost of publishing the decision.

The compliance failings follow Saxo Banks acquisition of BinckBank NV in December 2018, with the final merger of the French division completed in July 2024. The violations identified by the AMF occurred during and after the IT migration phase in November 2020.

Earlier this year, Dutch regulators also fined Saxo Bank €1.6 million for previous compliance breaches committed by BinckBank prior to its merger with Saxo. The firm chose not to contest that ruling.