Next steps? Banks likely to line up to be the first to tattle, to get the best deal with regulators The passing year will remain in history as a dire one for the financial industry. First it was the Libor fixing rate, it was closely followed by the foreign exchange markets fixing probe and concluded…
Read moreAfter Libor and Euribor, recent FX rates manipulation probes, EU regulators seem to be toughening up Over the weekend German financial regulator BaFin has announced that it would be in the interest of the financial markets to conduct a thorough reform to the setting of financial markets benchmarks such as Libor. Chief Executive Director Raimund…
Read moreAs 4pm fix investigation continues, industry calls increase to change the way FX benchmarks are set In yet another twist, yesterday’s Bloomberg piece titled “FX Dealers Said to Use Day Traders to Make Personal Bets” is shedding some light on the FX manipulation practices surrounding the 4 pm fix saga. The trio of authors have…
Read moreRegulators turn their attention to traders' personal accounts Another week goes on and more troubling events for the big banks are reported by the media. While regulatory investigations of FX fix manipulations are ongoing, the USA Today reported yesterday that South Korean semiconductor company Simmtech has filed a class action lawsuit against seven major banks.…
Read moreIn the wake of forex rates manipulation investigations, senior management patience runs thin Following our report last week that several pairs were affected in the alleged currency rates manipulation of the 4 pm fix.Some new information was sourced in a report by Reuters titled "Banks consider ban on chat rooms after rigging probe" shed light on…
Read moreWas FX benchmark manipulation the exception or the norm? Yesterday we bumped into a revealing article providing some more precise details about the foreign exchange manipulation investigations in the Financial Times called "Biggest banks face forex probe questions". As it turns out, according to the newspaper’s sources close to the forex probe, there are several forex…
Read moreWas the 4pm fix mechanism just inviting manipulation by greedy traders and banks? Last week, in an interesting piece called “The forex market is designed to encourage crime” the Financial Times newspaper picked up on an important issue. Written from a forex industry outsider's perspective (the author's first complaint was the 30% spread in buying or…
Read moreAfter reporting its Q3 interim management statement, HSBC joins the ranks of alleged FX manipulators. In a fresh batch of events, it seems that major bank troubles related to the 4pm fix manipulation investigation are just about to start. As we have reported during the past couple of weeks, major banks around the globe are being investigated…
Read morePressures for the Chinese Yuan to become a convertible currency will only intensify. In a not so diplomatic report to Congress, the US Treasury has highlighted the need for greater exchange rate flexibility on the part of China and angered German politicians by pointing out Germany’s large global trade surplus is persistently harming the rest…
Read moreSenior forex traders at RBS, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered put on leave. The 4pm Fix investigation dominoes are starting to fall.... Rohan Ramchandani of Citigroup, Matt Gardiner of Standard Chartered and Richard Usher at JP Morgan, plus two unnamed Forex executives at RBS, were all separately either suspended or placed on leave from their…
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