Switzerland begins currency probe

2014-03-31 256

Swiss and British regulators have stepped up their scrutiny of alleged manipulation of foreign exchange markets.

The move comes as watchdogs aim to take a closer look at whether banks have a tight enough grip on the behaviour of their traders.

Switzerland’s competition commission Weko said it opened an investigation into several Swiss, British and US banks over potential collusion to manipulate currency rates.

The probe could take several months and result in fines of up to 10 percent of the turnover generated in the relevant market in Switzerland over the last three years Weko’s Vice Director Olivier Schaller said.