Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay part of $22 million to settle allegations by China’s securities regulator over how the Wall Street firm interacted with its local joint venture partner, the first such agreement under pilot rules the nation adopted in 2015.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission agreed with Goldman Sachs under guidelines that allow it to negotiate a settlement rather than to simply issue a fine. The deal relates to how Goldman Sachs’s Asia unit worked with Beijing Gao Hua Securities Co., the majority owner of the onshore joint venture, on its trading business. Employees at both firms have agreed to step up internal controls, the CSRC said in a statement.
Nine companies, including Goldman Sachs and Beijing Gao Hua, will pay 150 million yuan ($22 million) to settle the case, according to the CSRC notice. “We are pleased to have resolved the matter,” a spokeswoman who represents Goldman Sachs and Beijing Gao Hua said. Between October 2013 and July 2015, traders at Goldman Sachs’s Asian unit used its account held with Beijing Gao Hua to carry out trades and provided “business guidance” to staff at Beijing Gao Hua, according to the CSRC notice.