RBS Fined Over Libor Rate-Fixing

Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined £390m for its part in the Libor rate-fixing scandal.

UK and US authorities imposed the fine, with the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) issuing a penalty of £87.5m, while £300m will be paid to US regulators and the US Department of Justice.

RBS says it has uncovered wrongdoing by 21 employees, all of whom have either left or been disciplined.

£300m of the fine will be paid using money clawed back from bonuses already paid and reductions on future bonuses, according to the bank.

Chairman Philip Hampton said it was a "sad day for RBS".

"There were serious shortcomings in our systems and controls and also in the integrity of a small group of our employees," he said in a statement.

"We have to fix the culture in the banking industry... the board has used all means possible to ensure the gravity of this issue is reflected in the remuneration received by employees."

The FSA called the misconduct at RBS "widespread" and said it involved "a number of employees and occurred over a number of years".

But the bank will qualify for a 30% discount on the fine due to its having settled at an early stage of the investigation. The UK-imposed fine would have been £125m, had his not been the case.

Meanwhile, RBS's Japanese subsidiary has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

The charge relates to manipulation as part of the settlement with US regulators.

It has also been revealed that the head of RBS's investment banking arm, John Hourican, will leave the bank.

(IT)