Deutsche Bank Fined by U.S. SEC

Germany’s largest bank Deutsche Bank has been fined $750,000 (€680,000) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a conflict of interest over the merger of American computer firms Hewlett-Packard and Compaq in 2002. By paying the fine, Deutsche Bank settled the matter without admitting or denying the SEC's findings. The SEC said Deutsche Asset Management failed to tell its clients that Deutsche’s investment banking unit had worked with Hewlett-Packard to override opposition to the merger with Compaq. "The (SEC) order emphasizes that the proxy voting process was tainted by the failure to disclose the conflict," the SEC's San Francisco district administrator Helane Morrison told Reuters.