HIBOR rigging facing wider HK probe

More banks alleged to have manipulated Hong Kong’s benchmark inter-bank lending rate.

Hong Kong has widened an investigation into possible manipulation of the Hong Kong Inter-bank Offered Rate that initially targeted only Swiss bank UBS AG.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority did not identify the banks added to its probe of possible inappropriate market conduct in the benchmark rate submissions for HIBOR, however.

HKMA in February said it would transfer administration of HIBOR from the Hong Kong Association of Banks to the broader-based Treasury Markets Association as part of an overhaul of the rate setting system.

It said it has commenced follow-up actions on a number of banks to ascertain whether there have been any inappropriate market conducts in their benchmark rate submissions.

It began investigating UBS last December after the Swiss bank agreed to pay US$1.5 billion to U.S., U.K. and Swiss regulators to settle charges regarding the manipulation of LIBOR, the U.K. inter-bank lending rate used as benchmark for loans around the world.

UBS previously admitted to manipulating the EURIBOR and TIBOR inter-bank rates set in Brussels and Tokyo.