The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has banned Hon Pan Pang for 21 months from 25 November 2020 to 24 August 2022.
He was a former private banking relationship manager of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) (SCBHK) and a former senior relationship manager of Bank of Singapore (BOS).
The SFC’s disciplinary action follows a referral by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
The HKMA found that Pang breached SCBHK’s internal policies from 17 April 2010 to 31 March 2017 by:
- failing to disclose to his then employer SCBHK the existence of his personal securities accounts maintained with three external financial institutions;
- conducting a total of 48 securities transactions through these accounts without seeking pre-clearance from SCBHK, or reporting them to SCBHK post-execution; and
- falsely declaring to SCBHK on seven occasions that he had no existing securities account.
Previous action
The HKMA issued a decision in November 2019 to impose a 15-month suspension against Pang after its investigation.
Pang then applied to the SFC appeals tribunal (SFAT) for a review of HKMA’s decision in December 2019.
On 12 February 2020, Pang asked the SFAT to postpone a hearing scheduled for 17 February 2020 because he was in the midst of a 14-day home quarantine following a business trip to Mainland China on 7 February 2020.
The SFAT agreed to Pang’s request for postponement and adjourned the hearing.
HKMA found out that Pang went to Mainland China on 7 February 2020 on a personal trip instead of a business trip, which he told the SFAT, and he did not undergo self-quarantine at home afterwards.
Pang subsequently withdrew the review application, and the SFAT granted leave for Pang to discontinue the review proceedings, while commenting that his “review application was wholly without merit” on 14 May 2020.
He was taken off the HKMA register from 17 March 2020 following his dismissal by BOS.
Reasons
The SFC said: “Pang’s conduct regarding his personal securities accounts and wilful misrepresentation to the SFAT dishonest and call into question his character, reliability and his ability to carry on regulated activities competently and honestly.
“In deciding the sanction, the SFC took into account all relevant circumstances, including the duration of Pang’s conduct and his otherwise clean disciplinary record.
“Pang, who had applied to the SFAT for a review of the SFC’s decision, was granted leave to withdraw his application on 25 November 2020 by the SFAT and ordered to pay the SFC’s legal costs.”
