Barclays Africa’s Maria Ramos apologises for bank’s role in rand rigging
CEO Maria Ramos says Barclays alerted the Competition Commission about the practice after suspending two traders
Barclays Africa Group apologised for its role in a rand-fixing affair involving more than a dozen banks, saying it alerted regulators about the practice after suspending two traders. "We deeply regret that this conduct took place within our organisation," CEO Maria Ramos said on a conference call on Thursday, without identifying the employees. "Those who contravened our rules will be held accountable." The Competition Commission listed more than a dozen banks, including Barclays Africa, in its probe earlier in February and named more than 30 traders for price fixing and market allocation in the trading of foreign-currency pairs involving the rand. On February 20, Citigroup said that it agreed to pay a penalty of almost R70m to settle the case, and would make witnesses available to help prosecute other banks. Barclays Africa’s Absa unit said in a statement on Thursday that the Competition Commission was not seeking any administrative penalty against the bank. The lender said it broug...
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