(Reuters) - UBS Group AG's <UBSG.S> Australian unit was fined A$120,000 ($87,552) after the Markets Disciplinary Panel found that certain buy-backs were not in the ordinary course of trading, the Australian corporate watchdog said on Tuesday.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the fine resulted after the panel found that the unit, UBS Securities Australia Ltd, bought about 18 million securities in 2017 and reported the transactions to the Australian stock exchange as 'Trades with Price Improvement'.
According to the ASIC market integrity rules for competition in exchange markets, 'Trades with Price Improvement' are not in the ordinary course of trading and are not permitted for on-market buy-backs.
($1 = 1.3706 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)