RBS sends records of trader chats to FCA over possible violation

9th Oct 2013 09:07

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has sent records of chats between a former currency trader and counterparts at other firms to the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to be examined. The lender passed on the instant messages related to the dealer's trading positions to the UK regulator after finding they may have been inappropriate, sources told Bloomberg.The trader departed the bank before the investigation and his leaving had nothing to do with the probe, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.The FCA declined to comment on the report. RBS discovered the dealings after opening an internal investigation following a report in June that traders at banks across the globe may have tried to manipulate benchmark rates in the foreign-exchange market. At the time the FCA said it was reviewing the claims and reportedly sent requests for information to four banks including Deutsche Bank and Citigroup Inc.European Union regulators on Monday said they were looking into the manipulation of currency rates by the financial industry while the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also been probing possible violations in the market. Shares in RBS held steady at 371.40p at 09:40 on Wednesday.RD