The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Tuesday reprimanded HSBC and fined the bank more than HK$4 million for breaching disclosure requirements when publishing research reports on Hong Kong-listed securities.

The regulator said the breaches are believed to have affected disclosures in over 4,200 reports published between 2013 and 2021.

The market watchdog and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority both found that HSBC had failed to disclose and/or made incorrect disclosures regarding its investment banking relationships with various companies covered in research reports, and that the issues were caused by deficiencies in HSBC's data recording and mapping across systems.

HSBC reported the breaches to the regulators in March 2023.

Following an investigation lasting more than two years, the SFC came to the conclusion that HSBC was guilty of misconduct.

In deciding to impose a HK$4.2 million fine on the bank, the SFC said it had taken into consideration all the relevant circumstances.

It said there was no evidence of client losses resulting from the disclosure issues, the bank had conducted reviews to identify the root cause, it had taken steps to enhance its systems and controls to prevent future breaches, and had co-operated with the regulators during the investigation.