UBS AG is fined $1.53bn for Libor rate fixing. 1

 

UBS has reached a settlement with the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) concerning its investigation. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) will also issue an order concluding its formal proceedings with respect to UBS.

 

The fines are announced.

The UBS AG press release is quoted here:  UBS AG is fined.

 

In short:

• UBS has agreed to pay a total of approximately $1.53bn in fines.
• UBS will pay $260m in fines to the FSA and $64.7m as disgorgement of estimated profits to FINMA.
• The Board has authorised a payment of fines totalling $1.2bn to the DoJ and CFTC, and expects those authorities to make further announcements later today.
• UBS was libor fixing encompassed by the settlements includes Yen LIBOR, GBP LIBOR, CHF LIBOR, Euro LIBOR, USD LIBOR, Euribor and Euroyen TIBOR, although the nature and extent of the conduct in question varied significantly from one currency to another.

The conduct described in the settlements includes the following:

1. • Certain UBS personnel engaged in efforts to manipulate submissions for certain benchmark rates to benefit trading positions;
2. • Certain employees at the bank colluded with employees at other banks and cash brokers to influence certain benchmark rates to benefit their trading positions; and
3. • Certain personnel gave inappropriate directions to UBS submitters that were in part motivated by a desire to avoid unfair and negative market and media perceptions during the financial crisis.

 

 NB in the UK the Serious Fraud Office is still investigating, in Switzerland civil suits are coming in and I suspect that we have not hear the last of this story yet.

 

I'll write a fuller update of this story as the information develops during the day.

 

Your comments are of course welcome.