The FCA has published warning notice statements in relation to two individuals on an anonymous basis. These are the first such statements to be issued since the FCA was granted the power to do so by the Financial Services Act 2012.

Warning notices are sent to the subjects of enforcement action at the outset of that action, before the subject has had the opportunity to make representations in response to allegations, so the statements made represent allegations rather than findings.

The first individual was a submitter at a bank and, it is alleged, was knowingly involved in a breach of Principle 5 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses by the bank in relation to an interest rate benchmark. The individual allegedly:

• colluded with others when making interest rate benchmark submissions; and
• took into account the interest rate derivative positions on the trading book for which the individual was responsible when making interest rate benchmark submissions.

The second individual, a manager at a bank, was, allegedly, over a period of three years knowingly involved in the bank’s breaches of Principles 3 and 5 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses by the bank in relation to an interest rate benchmark since he was:

• aware of attempts to manipulate interest rate benchmark submissions and of an absence of controls governing the procedure for making interest rate benchmark submissions at the bank and took no steps to address this;
• aware of the conflict of interest in certain submitters also trading derivative products referenced to an interest rate benchmark; and
• responsible for the oversight and supervision of the bank’s submitters and failed to manage his responsibilities appropriately.

Copies of the warning notice statements for the individual are available

first http://www.fca.org.uk/static/documents/warning-notice-statements/warning-notice-statement-14-1individual.pdf

and

second. http://www.fca.org.uk/static/documents/warning-notice-statements/warning-notice-statement-14-2-individual.pdf