Deutsche Bank fined $2.5bn for trying to manipulate interest rates

PanARMENIAN.Net - The German bank will pay more than $2bn to U.S. regulators, while the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a £227mln fine. The fine relates to manipulation of the Libor and Euribor inter-bank rates.

The penalty is a record for such misconduct because Deutsche tried to mislead regulators and could have hampered the investigation.

In 2012, Switzerland's UBS agreed to pay $1.5bn in a global settlement, while the UK's Barclays paid $453mln.

The misconduct involved at least 29 Deutsche Bank individuals, including managers and traders, mainly based in London but also in Frankfurt, Tokyo and New York. It took place between 2005 and 2009.

Libor and Euribor are benchmark interest rates, influencing the setting of other rates. They are used as a barometer to measure the health of the banking system and as a gauge of market expectation for future central bank interest rates.

The FCA said they "are fundamental to the operation of both UK and international financial markets".

But traders colluded to set these benchmark rates, hoping to improve their trading positions. The regulators released email exchanges between traders and submitters - the people who provide the information on which rate Libor and Euribor is set each day.

The New York Department of Financial Services said that Deutsche still employs some people involved in the misconduct, and has demanded their dismissal.

About 10 individuals have already had their employment ended, the DFS said, but it added: "However, certain employees involved in the wrongful conduct remain employed at the Bank."