RegulationJul 30 2015

FCA bans former Rabobank trader

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FCA bans former Rabobank trader

The Financial Conduct Authority has banned Lee Stewart, a former Rabobank trader, from the UK financial services industry for lacking honesty and integrity following a criminal conviction for fraud in the US.

In March, Mr Stewart pleaded guilty in the US for his role in a conspiracy to manipulate Rabobank’s US dollar Libor submissions.

This action follows the recent ban of Paul Robson, another trader at Rabobank. To date the FCA has issued 14 warning notices related to interest rate benchmarks and continues wider investigations into individuals’ conduct in relation to Libor misconduct.

Yesterday (29 July) the regulator published the findings of a thematic review, telling firms that they still have further work to do in improving governance and oversight of benchmark activity.

It stated that the lessons learned from the Libor, forex and gold cases to other benchmarks had been “uneven across the industry and often lacked the urgency required given the severity of recent failings”.

Georgina Philippou, acting director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said that Mr Stewart was an experienced trader at Rabobank who, through his guilty plea, has admitted to participating in a criminal conspiracy to manipulate Libor over a prolonged period of time.

“His behaviour was inexcusable and very serious. This ban further reinforces our expectation that individuals and firms take responsibility for ensuring market integrity and reminds them of the consequences if they fall short of our standards.”

Today’s ban comes ahead of US sentencing in 2017.

peter.walker@ft.com