Swiss bank UBS gets $13.3 million British fine

LONDON -- Swiss bank UBS AG has been fined 8 million pounds ($13.3 million) for management failures which allowed employees to make unauthorized trades with customers' accounts, Britain's financial regulator said Thursday.

The fine is the third-largest ever imposed by the Financial Services Authority.

Margaret Cole, the regulator's director of enforcement and financial crime said the fine included a 20 percent discount from the maximum because UBS ( UBS - news - people ) cooperated at an early stage.

Four employees and at least 39 accounts in UBS' London-based wealth management business were involved in the unauthorized transactions in 2006 and 2007.

"These employees were able to take advantage of UBS' inadequate systems and controls, giving them free rein to make unauthorized trades with customer money that they were then able to conceal," said Cole.

UBS has paid more than $42 million compensation to the wealthy customers who were affected.