Global: Financial reg offers radical market-rigging solution

Germany’s head of financial regulation offered monumental overhaul suggestions for the globe to prevent further catastrophic rate-rigging schemes in the wake of the LIBOR and foreign exchange benchmark manipulation scandals, say reports.

Elke Koenig, who fronts Germany’s financial regulator Bafin, said in an interview last week that her suggestion would be to move commodities and currency trading under regulated exchanges.

Such a move, say said, would provide transparency and “make it far easier to detect trading patterns that manipulate prices.”

While the regulator admitted it was a “far-reaching idea,” it is not an impossible one, say said. Reports say the suggestion is the most radical since the LIBOR scandal sparked worldwide investigations.

European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia spoke on the benchmark rigging cases last week, calling the level of collusion “impressive.” Current investigations are looking into the foreign exchange market and precious metals exchanges.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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