Ouch! 80% government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is daring to go there... In the wake of a comprehensive review of more than 50 current and former traders who worked at the bank (and a $634 million fine), Bloomberg reports that RBS is suspending the bonuses of 18 FX traders. “We are undertaking a robust and thorough review into the actions of the traders that caused this wrongdoing and the management that oversaw it,” Jon Pain, RBS’s head of conduct and regulatory affairs, said, adding "no further bonus payments will be made or unvested bonus awards released to those in scope of the review until it has concluded."
Royal Bank of Scotland suspended bonuses of 18 traders as part of a review of its foreign-exchange business in the wake of a $634 million fine.
The bank is reviewing the conduct of more than 50 current and former traders who worked at the investment bank, it said in a statement today. Six employees face disciplinary action, with three of them suspended pending investigations.
A former RBS trader was arrested on Dec. 19 in relation to the U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into currency rigging, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
“We are undertaking a robust and thorough review into the actions of the traders that caused this wrongdoing and the management that oversaw it,” Jon Pain, RBS’s head of conduct and regulatory affairs, said in the statement. “No further bonus payments will be made or unvested bonus awards released to those in scope of the review until it has concluded.”
The SFO confirmed it had last week arrested a man in Billericay, a town in Essex, east of London. The agency declined to comment on his identity or employment.
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RBS said that given the “complex” nature of the investigations, it will provide a further update when the review is complete, probably in the first quarter.
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But how is an FX trader supposed to earn a dishonest living? And isn't it a basic human right that FX traders deserve multi-million dollar bonuses? Rigging, schmigging...
