Banking giant UBS, one of six banks fined this week for attempting to manipulate foreign exchange markets, confirmed Saturday it was considering taking back bonuses from traders over the scandal. The bank confirmed a report in Financial Times stating that it was one of five fined banks looking into clawing back millions of dollars in bonuses from individual traders.
A spokeswoman said the bank would especially aim to cancel the payment of deferred bonuses in cases where wrongdoing was found. Another of the fined banks, Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), hinted it could take similar action. "We are still working our way through disciplinary and accountability processes involving over 50 employees and their managers," RBS chief Ross McEwan said in a statement Friday.
"While we will treat all people fairly, those who have been found lacking in conduct or accountability terms will be dealt with appropriately, including through claw back, award forfeiture, or through formal disciplinary procedures," he said. Along with RBS and UBS, British bank HSBC and US peers Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase were together slapped with $4.2 billion in fines by global regulators Wednesday. The hefty fines, unveiled in London, Washington and Zurich, followed a worldwide probe into the scandal over the $5.3-trillion-per-day forex market, around 40 percent of which takes place in the British capital. A string of scandals, including the rigging of the Libor interbank interest rate and product mis-selling, has damaged the reputation of major banks, already tainted by their roles in sparking the 2008 global financial crisis and subsequent worldwide recession.