U.K. Regulator Fines, Bans Former RBS Trader for Rate Manipulation -- Update

(Adds statement from Mr. Danziger in fourth and fifth paragraphs.)

The U.K.'s financial regulator has fined a former Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) trader 250,000 pounds ($338,250) and banned him from the financial industry for historic interest-rate manipulation.

The Financial Conduct Authority said Monday that Neil Danziger, a former RBS interest-rate derivatives trader, was knowingly involved in a failure to observe proper standards of market conduct and acted recklessly.

The offenses relate to RBS's submission of Libor information to the British Bankers Association between 2007 and 2010, as well as trades made to cover payments to brokers for personal hospitality, said the FCA.

"Mr Danziger continues to dispute the FCA's findings and feels strongly that he is being scapegoated for the systemic problems relating to LIBOR," said a spokesman for Mr. Danziger.

"However, the last five years have been incredibly challenging. He is emotionally exhausted and financially drained. He leaves it to others, better resourced, to press the FCA for answers, hopeful that, one day, the real truth will come out," added the spokesman.

The FCA has previously imposed seven financial penalties totaling GBP426 million on companies for historic interest-rate manipulation, it said. This includes a GBP87.5 million penalty levied on RBS in 2013.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@dowjones.com; @AdamDowJones

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 08, 2018 07:41 ET (12:41 GMT)