LIBOR investigations spread to RBS and UBS

New details from court documents reveal that at least two other Banks, UK-based Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Switzerland’s UBS AG- played a central role in rigging global benchmark interest rates.

Most of the attention of the LIBOR scandal has focused on trading activities at Barclays, which only last month reached a settlement of $453 million with U.S and UK antitrust authorities for its role in the manipulation of rates. The scandal, which came into light in 2008, brings to light the concerns of rate manipulation especially in the cost of borrowing, home loans and credit card rates.

With the spread of dollar and euro rate rigging since 2005 globally, traders such as Barclays were heavily involved in rate manipulation with big global banks. By 2007, RBS and UBS sought to also influence yen rate markets in order to create favorable trading positions for themselves, sources say. RBS and UBS traders are currently under heavy scrutiny and a focus of much investigation for there alleged involvement in seeking to influence yen dominated rates.

Full content: Reuters

Related content: Why and How Should the Libor Be Reformed? Libor Litigation and the Role of Screening: The Need for Enhanced Compliance Programs

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