By Andrew Winterbottom
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator has fined Reckitt Benckiser (L:RB) for not informing the market properly about share trading by two senior executives, in the latest crackdown on disclosure failures by London-listed firms.
Consumer goods producer Reckitt failed to monitor the internal share dealings of the executives, leading to late and incomplete disclosure to the market, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a press release on Tuesday.
It fined the company 539,800 pounds ($817,743) for breaches of listing, disclosure and transparency rules between 2005 and 2012. The fine includes a 30 percent discount because Reckitt reached an early settlement with the FCA.
Reckitt, whose brands include antiseptic Dettol and sore throat lozenges Strepsils, said it would continue to work closely with the regulator.
Spokesman David Litterick said the company had "already implemented measures to improve its internal processes that address the FCA's concerns".
The FCA has stepped up its monitoring of London-listed companies since late 2013, when scandals at two mining companies left some investors nursing heavy losses.
The regulator said Reckitt failed to notify the market of executives' share dealings by the end of the next business day, and the company's failures were compounded by inadequate records and training.
"The FCA expects all listed companies to learn the lessons from this case and to ensure they have the right controls and training in place," said Georgina Philippou, the FCA's acting director of enforcement and market oversight.
Reckitt also failed to identify breaches of the so-called Model Code, which is designed to ensure senior executives do not misuse confidential inside information, the FCA said.
However, there was no suggestion the executives used such information in their trades, the regulator said.
