NAB plugs rogue-trade gaps

NATIONAL Australia Bank today said it had found gaps in its internal procedures, and delayed an expected announcement that was due to clarify losses incurred by its currency traders through unauthorised deals.

'The foreign currency options traders exploited weaknesses,' chief executive Frank Cicutto said. 'We have identified those weaknesses and have closed them.'

Five separate investigations are being carried out into how rogue traders lost at least £78m in unauthorised forex deals. An update on the actual sum lost, which could be as high as £250m, was due today but NAB said that had been delayed until next week.

Meanwhile, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it would try to determine whether any of the bank's employees breached the Corporations Act and whether NAB misled the market in its disclosure of the debacle.

NAB has already referred the allegedly unauthorised trades to the police while regulator Apra, the bank's auditor KPMG and accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers are also conducting investigations.

ASIC could take civil or criminal action against any NAB employees it finds misused their position, and could also fine the bank.