Trading challenges faced by ICBC following LockBit attack

Major Chinese bank Industrial & Commercial Bank of China has failed to convince some of its market partners to resume trading with the firm following a LockBit ransomware attack against its U.S. subsidiary ICBC Financial Services earlier this month, which has disrupted the U.S. Treasury market, reports BNN Bloomberg. Reports of the attack have been immediately followed by the disconnection of ICBC's partners from impacted systems, as well as an eight-month peak in U.S. Treasury securities that failed to fulfill a trade contract. Such an incident has been noted by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Brian Meehan to be indicative of the wide-ranging risks in Treasury trades, which should prompt stricter regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission. "ICBC is or was, until this attack a presence in the U.S. Treasury market but not a cornerstone. Other firms offer the same services, so it's unlikely clients will migrate back quickly. This is a lesson all firms should heed," said Meehan.