Hong Kong Doesn't Find Evidence of Forex Benchmark Rigging By Banks

By Anjani Trivedi 

        HONG KONG--Hong Kong's de facto central bank on Friday said it found no evidence of collusion among banks in rigging benchmarks in the $5.3-trillion-a-day foreign-exchange market.
        The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which carried out the probe as part of a global investigation, said it sought to determine whether banks in Hong Kong manipulated foreign exchange benchmark fixings, engaged in collusion or other inappropriate activities between 2008 and 2013.
        While it found no evidence of benchmark rigging or collusion by banks, the HKMA did point to two failed attempts by Hong Kong-based traders to manipulate the benchmark.
        One case of a "suspected attempt to influence an Asian currency benchmark fixing" by a Hong Kong-based trader at Standard Chartered Bank was found, the HKMA said, but there wasn't enough evidence to prove whether the trader actually "effected trades."
        In another case, a Hong Kong-based trader at Deutsche Bank made a failed attempt to influence the U.S. dollar--Hong Kong dollar spot rate in March 2009 at the request of an overseas colleague, the HKMA said.
        Enda Curran contributed to this article.
        Write to Anjani Trivedi at anjani.trivedi@wsj.com
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        December 19, 2014 05:44 ET (10:44 GMT)

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