Singapore raps 20 banks for trying to rig rates

[streetcry]

Singapore's investigation into banks was triggered by the Libor-rigging scandal last year.
LONDON (CNNMoney)
[h=2]Singapore has rapped 20 banks for allowing 133 traders to attempt to manipulate interest rates and foreign exchange benchmarks during a four-year period.[/h] The Monetary Authority of Singapore found no evidence of criminal behavior during a year-long investigation triggered by the Libor rigging scandal, but said the traders had made several attempts to influence prices inappropriately between 2007 and 2011.

"Although the number of traders involved represents a small proportion of the trading community in Singapore, MAS takes a serious view of the need to uphold high standards of integrity in the industry and expects banks to foster a culture of ethical conduct among all their employees," the central bank said in a statement.


The investigation covered Sibor, the Singapore equivalent of Libor -- a collection of rates set by a panel and used as a benchmark for securities worth trillions of dollars globally. It also included a local benchmark for commercial lending and a foreign exchange rate.


Related: U.K. regulator eyes currency market manipulation
The banks were guilty of failing to supervise their submissions to the panels that set the benchmarks, the MAS said.
Singapore's worst offenders were the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)and UBS (UBS), which have already paid fines of $612 million and $1.5 billion respectively to settle Libor-rigging claims, and Dutch bank ING (ING).
Those three banks have been ordered to increase their reserves on deposit with the central bank by 1 billion to 1.2 billion Singapore dollars ($958 million) at a zero interest rate for a year.


But the investigation -- launched after Barclays (BCS) became the first bank to admit attempted Libor rigging last year, paying out $450 million -- also adds new faces to the rogues' gallery.


Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), BNP Paribas (BNPQF), and the Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation were also ordered to increase their reserves at MAS by 700 million to 800 million Singapore dollars.


The remaining 14 banks, including Barclays, Credit Suisse, (CS) Deutsche Bank (DB), Standard Chartered, (SCBFF) Citibank (C, Fortune 500), HSBC (HBC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500). came away with smaller penalties.


MAS said about 75% of the traders involved had resigned or been asked to leave their banks, and the remainder would be disciplined by way of transfer to another job, demotion or loss of bonuses.


The Libor scandal and subsequent revelations about attempts to manipulate financial benchmarks, including foreign exchange rates and oil prices, have further undermined confidence in an industry still struggling to come to terms with the fallout of the global financial crisis.


International regulators are working on plans for new global standards governing the setting of benchmarks and are expected to publish draft proposals as early as next month.

 

[halsey02]

Can these traders join NEA, they are looking for 300 mosquitoes busters?? or drive taxis, can earn $7,000 as much as their previous job as trading representative.

 

[winnipegjets]

Banks were fined big money in UK and some have ponied up big money in the US while investigation is ongoing.

Sinkapore - does nothing. What does that say about sinkapore's reputation as a financial centre? Already sinkapore has a reputation as a money launderer for Indonesians, Filipino, Malaysians and PRC. What's the next 'reputation' that we will acquire?

 

[makapaaa]

See How Dishonest SG Banks Are - CROOKS!

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s monetary authority censured banks for trying to rig benchmark interest rates and ordered them to set aside as much as S$12 billion ($9.6 billion) at zero interest pending steps to improve internal controls.

ING Groep NV, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and UBS AG were among 20 banks at which 133 traders tried to manipulate the Singapore interbank offered rate, swap offered rates and currency benchmarks in the city-state, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement today. The regulator said it will also make rigging key rates a criminal offense and bring supervision under its direct oversight.

The crackdown in Singapore comes amid a widening global review of benchmark rates following revelations this week of potential manipulation in the $4.7 trillion-a-day currency market. Barclays Plc, UBS and RBS have paid $2.5 billion over the past year to settle claims with U.S. and U.K financial regulators on rigging Libor.

“Regulators around the world are taking this opportunity to identify where they may be weaknesses in mechanisms banks have in place,” David Marshall, a Singapore-based analyst at CreditSights Inc., said by telephone today. “They’ve been keen to put in place a clearer and stricter regulatory environment in which to operate.”

Disciplinary Action

Nineteen firms were asked to post reserves ranging from S$100 million to S$1.2 billion -- depending on the severity of the attempts by their traders to manipulate rates -- for a year and will earn zero interest on that money, MAS said. Commerzbank AG was exempted from setting aside any money.

The banks have taken disciplinary action against the 133 traders found to have tried to rig the rates, with about three-quarters of them having resigned or been asked to leave their firms, MAS said. The traders who are still employed will be subject to disciplinary action, the regulator said.

“While there was no conclusive finding the SIBOR, SOR and FX benchmarks were successfully manipulated, the traders’ conduct reflected a lack of professional ethics,” according to the statement from the central bank.

Sibor, used to price debt ranging from commercial term-loans to homeowners’ mortgages, is calculated daily on behalf of the Association of Banks in Singapore. For the local currency rate, a poll is conducted of the 11 contributing banks to ask how much it would cost to borrow Singapore dollars from each other for different periods from one month to 12 months. Some of the highest and lowest quotes are excluded, and the remaining are averaged and published at 11:30 a.m. in Singapore.

Banks Involved

ING “fully cooperated” with the review in Singapore and has taken disciplinary actions against the “small number of individuals involved,” the Amsterdam-based bank said in an e-mailed statement today. The firm will also take steps to improve procedures for submitting rates, monitor the processes and train staff, it said.

Bank of America Corp., BNP Paribas SA, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., Barclays, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse AG, DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Deutsche Bank AG, Standard Chartered Plc, United Overseas Bank Ltd., Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Macquarie Group Ltd., HSBC Holdings Plc and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.’s Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ unit were among the banks named by MAS in the statement today.

“The punishment meted out will provide a clear signal that manipulation and other forms of financial shenanigans, riggings and violations of the law will not be tolerated in a well-respected global financial center,” Joseph Cherian, director of the Centre of Asset Management Research & Investments at the National University of Singapore’s Business School, said by telephone today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrea Tan in Singapore at [email protected] ; Sanat Vallikappen in Singapore at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Douglas Wong at [email protected] ; Chitra Somayaji at [email protected]

 

[enterprise2]

Rap on the wrists, that's all. Anyway they already laughed all the way to or (in) the world!!! Suckers!!