How should George Osborne spend the £1.1bn forex fine? 38 Degrees launches “Nurses vs Bankers” NHS petition November 14, 2014 We had a go at suggesting a few ways George Osborne could spend the £1.1bn windfall from the fine the Financial Conduct Authority slapped on five banks for the parts they played in the forex scandal, and now it's the turn of campaigning organisation 38 Degrees. But where our ideas could have sent us into [...]
Forex rigging scandal: RBS, UBS, HSBC, JP Morgan and Citi set for lawsuit storm after £2bn FCA fine November 12, 2014 Funds, companies and other traders hurt by banks manipulating the foreign exchange markets could make claims totalling many billions of pounds, lawyers said yesterday. Five banks were fined a total of £2bn by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission authorities because their traders fiddled key currency benchmarks. But the [...]
Forex rigging scandal: Record fines doled out to banks but Barclays refuses to play ball November 12, 2014 Five global banks were fined yesterday by UK and US regulators, in a record £2bn punishment for traders fiddling crucial foreign exchange benchmarks from 2008 to 2013. The fines were particularly stiff because some of the manipulation took place after attempts at Libor fiddling had already been exposed. Barclays stood out yesterday, having not yet [...]
Forex rigging scandal – a timeline of the banking probe November 12, 2014 Spring 2008 Bank of England’s foreign exchange joint standing committee’s (chief dealers sub-group) starts to raise concerns about the capacity to fix FX benchmarks June 2013 The Financial Conduct Authority launches a preliminary investigation into claims banks were rigging the FX rate to benefit at the expense of clients October 2013 The Financial [...]
Forex rigging scandal: How the FCA fines have hit RBS, HSBC, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citi and UBS November 12, 2014 RBS RBS is the most apologetic of the banks, in part because it is 81 per cent taxpayer owned, and in part because its chief executive joined after the wrongdoing. “To say I’m angry about this misconduct would be an understatement,” chief Ross McEwan said yesterday. “We’ve had people working in this bank who didn’t [...]
Forex rigging scandal: FCA lauds US and EU assistance on FX probe November 12, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) yesterday hailed the “unprecedented co-operation” between international regulators in helping to clinch its £1.1bn settlement yesterday, as the chancellor sought to capitalise on the bank settlements. The FCA, which dubbed its probe Operation Dovercourt, unveiled the outcome of its probe alongside its US peer, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and [...]
FTSE declines after banks fined over forex manipulation – London Report November 12, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday, hit by disappointing corporate updates and a decline in bank shares, after regulators imposed fines to settle allegations of foreign exchange malpractice. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which had risen for the last five sessions in a row, closed down 0.3 per cent at 6,611.04 points. The index held [...]
RBS says it is reviewing staff conduct following Forex scandal fine November 12, 2014 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced that it is investigating the conduct of over 50 members of its staff, in a sign of penitence for its involvement in the Forex market rigging scandal. This morning, five banks including RBS were given hefty fines by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for "failing to [...]
Here are six things that the £1.1bn forex fine could be spent on “for the wider public good” November 12, 2014 Good news! Thanks to the forex fine announced today the Treasury is getting a £1.1bn boost to its coffers (minus whatever the FCA's enforcement costs come to). And even better news! Chancellor George Osborne has said he will use the money “for the wider public good”. Last time around, the government department used [...]
Bank of England fires chief currency dealer Martin Mallett after forex scandal probe November 12, 2014 A senior figure at the Bank of England has been fired for serious misconduct after failing to follow internal policies. BoE chief currency dealer Martin Mallet, who has worked at the Bank for 30 years, was suspended in March. Following a disciplinary procedure, he was dismissed yesterday. The BoE made clear this was in relation [...]