UBS agrees to pay £940million over Libor rigging case
The Swiss bank UBS is charged with regards to the Libor scandal, as claimants state there was interest rate manipulation
15:48 19 December 2012
Switzerland’s giant bank UBS has agreed to pay a hefty fine of £940million over the case of interest rates being manipulated. Regulators from the UK, America and also Switzerland will receive the payment in light of the Libor rigging scandal.
The Swiss bank was told to pay the sum of money in connection with attempts made to fix Libor lending rates.
UBS released a statement which said personnel had taken part “in efforts to manipulate submissions for certain benchmark rates to benefit trading positions.”
This marks the second biggest banking institute having to pay a penalty, as Barclays – one of the UK’s largest banks – paid a hefty fine this summer over claims they meddled with Libor rates.
It is understood that UBS has been helpful during the investigation, as they have co-operated with the leaders of the inquiries.
UBS’ Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said, as quoted by The Telegraph: “During the course of these investigations, we discovered behaviour of certain employees that is unacceptable. Their misconduct does not reflect the values of UBS nor the high ethical standards to which we hold every employee."
“We have cooperated fully with the authorities and taken decisive and appropriate actions to correct the issues and to strengthen our control processes and procedures,” Mr. Ermotti added.
“We deeply regret this inappropriate and unethical behavior. No amount of profit is more important than the reputation of this firm, and we are committed to doing business with integrity.”
The penalty also includes a payment of £160million which will be made to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA has reportedly said that rigging took place over a span of five years.
It is thought the FSA believe that the traders and brokers involved in the case showed a lack of respect for the rules.