FINRA fines Credit Suisse over anti-money laundering policies

(Reuters) - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said on Monday it has fined Credit Suisse's U.S.-based securities business $16.5 million for ineffective anti-money laundering programs. FINRA, the securities industry self-regulator, found that Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC relied on its brokers to identify and report suspicious trading, which did not always happen. FINRA also found the effectiveness of its automated system used to monitor suspicious transactions was impeded because many of the data feeds were missing information. FINRA was careful to say it did not find that Credit Suisse or any employees committed fraud or deceptive acts. A Credit Suisse spokesman said the bank was pleased with the settlement. "We cooperated with FINRA's inquiry and have been taking appropriate internal remedial efforts," a spokesman said. The bank neither admitted nor denied the charges. (Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)