The fine came after the board found deficiencies in BNP Paribas’s oversight of, and internal controls over, FX traders who buy and sell US dollars and foreign currencies for the firm’s own accounts and for customers.
Specifically, the bank had failed to detect and address that its traders used electronic chatrooms to communicate with competitors about their trading positions, the Fed said.
The board’s order requires BNP Paribas to improve its senior management oversight and controls relating to the firm’s FX trading. It is also prohibiting the firm from re-employing individuals who were involved in the conduct underlying this enforcement action.
BNP Paribas said today in a statement that the fine follows the announcement of a $350m settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services on the 24 May relating to the same issue.
It added it “deeply regrets the past misconduct which was a clear breach of the high standards on which the group operates”.
The bank said that since the period in question it has proactively implemented extensive measures to strengthen its systems of control and compliance.
In January, the Fed board permanently prohibited former BNP Paribas trader Jason Katz from participating in the banking industry for his manipulation of FX prices.
