First reported by Bloomberg early Tuesday, Dutch lender Rabobank said it has placed two of its London staff on paid leave following an internal investigation into the bank’s currency trading practices. “Rabobank can confirm that following an internal review of FX trading activities, two employees of its London branch have been put on paid leave of absence,” the bank said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The statement did not name the individuals involved.
Rabobank, which agreed to pay $1 billion last October to resolve U.S. and European probes into manipulation of the Libor interest rate market, has started a broader review as it seeks to strengthen internal compliance procedures.
This internal probe comes as more than a dozen regulators around the world investigate whether traders in the world’s largest financial market colluded with counterparts at other banks to manipulate benchmark exchange rates.
Around 30 traders have been fired or suspended. No individual or bank, however, has been formally accused of any wrongdoing. The year-long investigation could see settlements emerge between several banks and the UK authorities before the end of the year, sources have said.