LONDON: Barclays bank has suspended six traders amid an investigation into whether international currency markets were rigged, the BBC, the Financial Times and other outlets reported yesterday.
Barclays, Britain’s second-largest bank, revealed on Wednesday that it was the subject of an investigation by regulators in Britain and other countries over “possible attempts to manipulate certain benchmark currency exchange rates”. The bank said it was “reviewing its foreign exchange trading covering a several year period through August 2013 and is cooperating with the relevant authorities.”
Barclays spokeswoman Aurelie Leonard declined to comment on reports that traders had been suspended. Other banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Switzerland’s UBS have also said they are being investigated over currency trading, and Britain’s RBS suspended two traders on Thursday in the same investigation.
The investigation is the latest bad news for Barclays, which overhauled its top management after being fined $453m for manipulating a key global interest rate and other wrongdoing. AP
