According the AMF, the Investment Bank didn’t employ an effective system for assessing the suitability of investments proposed to clients as part of their investment advisory service, and that they had failed to uphold their duty to classify customers in accordance with the rules.
Additionally, the Committee found that Banque CIC Sud-Ouest had failed to sell financial products that were appropriate for the profiles of their customers, or to maintain an effective functional control system for their investment advice business.
The length, frequency, and severity of the violations, the financial standing of these businesses, and the corrective actions taken were all factors that the Committee took into account when determining the penalties levied on Banque CIC Sud-Ouest.
In the same week, the committee fined Crédit Industriel et Commercial One Million Euros for broadly similar regulatory failings: https://abigorange.co.uk/french-investment-firm-credit-industriel-et-commercial-fined-one-million-euros-by-french-regulator/