Global banking scandals: Who is under scrutiny?
31 October 2012 Last updated at 10:52 GM
A number of scandals have engulfed the global financial system, and several international banks are under investigation by regulators in several countries. They are alleged to have committed offences ranging from fixing interbank lending rates to complicity in money-laundering. In this guide, we explain who is accused of what by whom.
1. Libor manipulation | |
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| Investigations and reviews | Progress and banks implicated | Penalties |
Attorney general of New York, US | Seven banks have been served subpoenas: HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, UBS | Inquiry still in progress |
Attorney general of Connecticut, US | Seven banks have been served subpoenas: HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, UBS | Inquiry still in progress |
Commodity Futures Trading Commission | Imposed a fine of $200m on Barclays | Barclays fined £128.5m ($200m) |
Department of Justice, US | Assisted in the CFTC investigation focused onBarclays | Barclays fined £103m ($160m) |
Serious Fraud Office, UK | Launched a criminal investigation into the wider Libor scandal | Inquiry still in progress |
Financial Services Authority, UK | Tasked by the government with reviewing how Libor is set. Proposals include banks no longer submitting their own data on lending and making rate-fixing against market rules. The British Bankers' Association, the organisation which sets the Libor rate, has said it will accept losing its current role. The FSA is expected to publish its recommendations on Libor reform on Friday, 28 September. | Barclays fined £59.5m ($93m) |
2. Sanction-breaking and other wongdoing | |
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New York Department of Financial Services, US | Ordered Standard Chartered to pay a multi-million dollar fine and pay for a DFS monitor to ensure compliance. Following the fine and HSBC's admission that it failed to block Mexican criminals' money laundering, the DFS said it had evidence of apparently similar schemes to conduct business with other countries under sanctions - Libya, Burma and Sudan | Standard Chartered fined £217m ($340m) |
US Senate | HSBC is also accused, by the US Senate, of failing to prevent money laundering. Its US business said it carried out 28,000 "undisclosed sensitive transactions" between 2001 and 2007, most of which involved Iran. The Senate's report concluded that lax controls at HSBC left it vulnerable to being used to launder dirty money | HSBC has put aside £446m ($700m) to pay for potential fines |
Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea | Prompted by the US investigation, the FSS is conducting checks on HSBC's Seoul branch and Standard Chartered operations in South Korea, to "look into their businesses related to money-laundering" to see if they reported suspicious transactions and if they "verified their customers before such transactions" | No details |
Royal Bank of Scotland is understood to be facing investigations into possible violations of US sanctions on Iran | RBS is co-operating with US and UK authorities after going to them with information found in an internal review | |
Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), US | US media reports suggest that OFAC, along with the Federal Reserve, the Justice Department and the Manhattan district attorney's office, is investigating a total of four European banks for alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran. The inquiry is said to be confidential and its existence has not been officially confirmed | No details |
Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, US | US authorities are undertaking an investigation into whether Barclays' "relationships with third parties who assist Barclays to win or retain business" are compliant with the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act | Inquiry still in progress |
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, US | Barclays is being investigated over power trading in the west of the US during late 2006 through to the end of 2008 | Inquiry still in progress |
3. Asian interbank rate manipulation | |
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| Investigations and reviews | Progress and banks implicated | Penalties |
Fair Trade Commission, South Korea | Inspecting nine banks within South Korea'sKookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana banking groups seeking evidence of collusion on CD rates and possible rate fixing | No conclusions or penalties made public |
Japanese Bankers Association | Eighteen banks were asked to inspect their procedures for submitting Yen-denominated interbank rates, amid suggestions of possible collusion between banks | No improprieties in rate reporting found. The association plans to analyse the results further, to see if the method of calculating the rate needs to change |
Singapore Monetary Authority | Investigating how unnamed banks set "key market interest rate benchmarks", according to Bloomberg | Who am I Who am I, the inner feeling, overflowing waves of healing. Who am I, onward to our Ascension Quest, Who am I, creating new challenges is what we do best. Who am I, in pain that hides my sorrow, Who am I, in my hope and trust for a better tomorrow. Who am I, in my joy and bliss, Who am I, in the peace that I miss. Who am I, constantly on the move, Who am I, somehow that must be proved. Who am I, in the voice that speaks so softly, Who am I, in the choices I make loosely. Who am I, in the essence of my being, Who am I, when listening and seeing. Who am I, all caught up in anger, Who am I, when I thirst and hunger. Who am I, brought up in my fear, Who am I, in the mood of good cheer. Who am I, never finding what I lost, Who am I, being what I am most. Who am I, always on the go, Who am I, when I say no. Who am I, listening to the music sung, Who am I, when I again have begun. Who am I, in all the above, Who am I, the answer is Love !!
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Comments
Question, what happens to the monies after a fine has been imposed? Is it actually returned or is it just a formality shuffling paper work and creating new ledger s?