Securities regulator fines five China brokerages

The China Securities Regulatory Commission levied fines totaling RMB240 million (US$37.68 million) against five mainland brokerages for “insufficient inspection and understanding of clients’ identity,” South China Morning Post reported, citing an announcement from the regulator. The measures continue a crackdown on “errant” financial institutions the commission has blamed for the mainland stock market’s collapse. Four of the fined securities firms pointed to Hundsun’s Technologies in their stock filings. Hundsun, partly owned by Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s financial investment company, was one of multiple trading platforms which had offered high-leverage margin trading during the height of China’s latest stock bubble.