‘Spoofing’ lands bank giants Deutsche HSBC and UBS fines in the US

Deutsche Bank is paying one of its biggest ever fines for its role in manipulating the precious metals markets.

UBS and HSBC are also being punished for so-called “spoofing” — entering trades that are later cancelled in a bid to move prices to the banks’ advantage.

Eight traders operating in offices across the world are facing criminal charges for the conspiracy, following an investigation by the US Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Deutsche Bank will pay $30 million (£21 million), UBS $15 million and HSBC $1.6 million to settle the charges.

DOJ’s Acting Assistant Attorney General John P Cronan said the alleged conduct “reflects a disturbing and reckless trend of individuals and companies seeking to put illicit gains and profits above honest and law abiding conduct”.

Deutsche Bank said in a statement, “The bank has provided substantial and proactive cooperation with the government’s investigation and has enhanced controls and surveillance to help ensure that the underlying conduct does not occur in the future.”

In 2015, Deutsche paid $2.5 billion to settle allegations it manipulated Libor. The traders, ranging in age from 30 to 55, face accusations they manipulated various futures markets, including the S&P index and precious metals.

They entered thousands of “spoof” orders to induce other market participants to trade at prices, quantities or times they otherwise would not have traded, the justice department said.

They traded from offices around the world, including in Chicago, New York, London and Zurich, Sydney and Singapore.

Earlier this month, HSBC was slapped with a $100 million fine after a US currency rigging probe.