Citigroup Fined $7.3 Million in Hong Kong for IPO Sponsor Work

Citigroup Inc. was fined HK$57 million ($7.3 million) by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission for the bank’s actions around the listing application of an initial public offering. The U.S. bank was also reprimanded for its failure to discharge its duties as a sponsor for Real Gold Mining Ltd.’s 2009 IPO. Citigroup’s due diligence on Real Gold’s customers was flawed, and it didn’t properly supervise its staff when carrying out the sponsor work, the SFC said on Thursday.