Tuesday, November 11, 2014

#Blackmoney UK, US and Swiss regulators fine banks $3.2 billion in foreign currency probe


Swiss bank UBS has paid a total of $803m to the CFTC, the FCA and its domestic regulator, Finma. UBS paid the highest single penalty, of $371m, to the FCA.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued five Orders filing and settling charges against Citibank N.A. (Citibank), HSBC Bank plc (HSBC), JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. (JPMorgan), The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS) and UBS AG (UBS) (collectively, the Banks) for attempted manipulation of, and for aiding and abetting other banks’ attempts to manipulate, global foreign exchange (FX) benchmark rates to benefit the positions of certain traders.

The Orders collectively impose over $1.4 billion in civil monetary penalties, specifically: $310 million each for Citibank and JPMorgan, $290 million each for RBS and UBS, and $275 million for HSBC.
The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued Final Notices regarding enforcement actions against the Banks and imposing collectively penalties of £1,114,918,000 (approximately $1.7 billion), and the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA) has issued an order resolving proceedings against and requiring disgorgement from UBS AG.


The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed fines totalling £1,114,918,000 ($1.7 billion) on five banks for failing to control business practices in their G10 spot foreign exchange (FX) trading operations: Citibank N.A. £225,575,000 ($358 million), HSBC Bank Plc £216,363,000 ($343 million), JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. £222,166,000 ($352 million), The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc £217,000,000 ($344 million) and UBS AG £233,814,000 ($371 million) (‘the Banks’).


The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has concluded enforcement proceedings against UBS AG (UBS) regarding foreign exchange trading conducted in Switzerland. FINMA found that over an extended period of time the bank's employees in Zurich at least attempted to manipulate foreign exchange benchmarks. In addition, employees acted against the interests of their clients. Risk management, controls and compliance in foreign exchange trading were insufficient. By breaching control requirements and owing to the misconduct of its employees, UBS severely violated the requirements for proper business conduct. Alongside the imposition of other corrective measures, FINMA has ordered UBS to disgorge a total of CHF 134m. It has also initiated enforcement proceedings against eleven persons involved in the case.