Goldman Sachs agrees to settle $6 million fine over trading data errors

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS). has agreed to pay a $6 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday for inaccurate or incomplete trading data submissions. The settlement is the latest in a series of penalties imposed on the Wall Street giant this year.

The SEC found flaws in 22,000 data files, known as blue sheets, which contained at least 163 million transactions over a decade. Goldman's submissions had 43 different types of errors, including misreporting trades in US Central Time instead of the required Eastern Time. Blue sheets are routinely sent to regulators to probe suspect trading.

"We are pleased to have resolved this matter," Goldman said in a statement, adding that they self-reported many of the errors and are in the process of submitting corrected blue sheets to the SEC. The bank also reached a related settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), according to the SEC.

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs faced multiple fines from various regulatory bodies. In August, it paid $5.5 million to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over claims that it failed to retain thousands of phone calls. In April, it paid another $15 million to the CFTC for failing to disclose pricing data on some swaps transactions. Additionally, it paid $3 million to FINRA for mistakenly marking tens of millions of stock orders as long instead of short.

As part of its efforts to address concerns from authorities including the Federal Reserve, Goldman Sachs is reportedly enlisting several hundred new staff members.

Meanwhile, Mathew McDermott, Goldman's global head of digital assets, acknowledged in a CNBC interview in February that the firm maintains a crypto trading desk and envisions a greater role for cryptocurrency in financial markets. This comes amidst ongoing tension between SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the crypto industry.

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