RBS, Barclays and StanChart hit with Singapore rate censure

14th Jun 2013 13:31

UK banks have been reprimanded and ordered to make one billion pounds of new provisions due to suspected interbank rate manipulation in Singapore. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Barclays and Standard Chartered were three of the 20 banks to have been upbraided by the Singapore central bank.Eschewing actual fines, the MAS instead told RBS to set aside provisions of between £510m and £612m, and demanded Barclays and Standard Chartered set aside of between £200m and £300m each to cover "deficiencies and risks".An investigation by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) found 133 traders had engaged in attempts to "inappropriately influence" the Singapore benchmarks, known as the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor). RBS was one of three banks - with ING and UBS - to face the highest deposit requirements, which MAS said was due to the "severity" of the manipulation attempts by their employees.The investigation had covered the Swap Offered Rates (SOR) and the foreign exchange spot benchmarks as well as Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR), all during the period from 2007 to 2011. MAS said: "While there is no conclusive finding that SIBOR, SOR and FX benchmarks were successfully manipulated, the traders' conduct reflected a lack of professional ethics."The authorities said the banks therefore had deficiencies in the governance, risk management, internal controls, and surveillance systems for their involvement in benchmark submissions.MAS reported that the banks had taken disciplinary actions against the traders involved, while it had referred some cases to the Commercial Affairs Department and the Singapore Attorney-General's Chambers. OH