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 [...]
City Moves for 13 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 12, 2014 Pinsent Masons The law firm has announced the appointment of Meriam Alrashid as an international arbitration partner in its global construction practice in London. A fluent Arabic speaker, she joins from Crowell & Moring and has particular experience in the Middle East and North Africa. Hermes Investment Management Vincent Nobel has been appointed head of [...]
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 [...]
FCA hits RBS, HSBC, UBS, JPMorgan and Citi with record £1.1bn fine in forex rigging scandal November 12, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest banks have been slapped with a fine of £1.1bn by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for "failing to control business practices" in their foreign exchange trading operations. After a year-long investigation into allegations of rate-rigging in their spot forex trading businesses, the UK's financial watchdog said the actions of the five [...]
Banks brace for record forex settlement fine November 11, 2014 BANKS in the UK will today be told how much they have to pay the banking regulator in fines, following a year-long investigation into the manipulation of foreign exchange markets. Six banks, including three based in the UK, will face record fines this morning as part of the forex probe. The combined penalty to be [...]
Better Capital’s Jon Moulton goes on £20m Walkabout with purchase of Australian-themed pub chain November 10, 2014 Better Capital, the turnaround fund owned by veteran venture capitalist Jon Moulton, yesterday announced it had bought Australian-themed pub chain Walkabout in a deal worth £20m. The fund said in a statement it had successfully acquired Walkabout’s parent company iNTERTAIN. The company had been controlled by creditors since 2009. It was formed out of the [...]
UK banks best placed for new capital buffers November 10, 2014 Investors will bear more losses more quickly when a big bank gets into trouble, under new rules laid out by global regulators the Financial Stability Board (FSB) yesterday. All global systemically important banks (GSIBs) will be affected as they will issue more capital to build up the buffers of total loss absorbing capacity (TLAC). Analysts [...]
Forex market rigging probe: Global regulators close in on £1.5bn bank foreign exchange settlement November 10, 2014 A clutch of banks are this week prepared to settle claims their traders tried to fiddle foreign exchange benchmarks, but final disagreements between global regulators are set to push the case back a week. UK, US and Swiss authorities had aimed to bring out an agreement tomorrow. However bringing so many authorities and banks into [...]
Challenger bank Aldermore says IPO will still happen as lending lifts November 10, 2014 Challenger bank Aldermore, which pulled the plug on a planned London Stock Exchange listing last month, has posted promising third quarter results. Aldermore's total lending rose by 10 per cent in the third quarter, taking it to a 30 per cent increase since the beginning of 2014. This helped lift third quarter pre-tax profit [...]