The U.K. bank has chosen to settle claims in light of embarrassing presence in online chat room «Old Gits».
Standard Chartered has agreed to pay a fine of $40 million towards settling claims made by U.S. authorities that it was guilty of trying to manipulate the price of emerging market currencies.
Evidence of the bank's participation in chat rooms called the «Old Gits» [British slang for «fool»] and «Butter the Comedian» has proved both embarrassing and damning.
Den of Thieves
A report first published in the «Financial Times» (behind paywall, but you can read it on the «New York Post») had one trader describing the chat room as a cartel, «like Opec but poorer», while another referred to it as a «den of thieves».
The New York Department of Financial Services said this week that the bank had engaged in «unsafe, unsound and improper conduct» between 2007 and 2013 in its currency trading business.
Colluding With Peers
Traders at Standard Chartered stand accused of colluding with peers to manipulate emerging market currency prices to benefit the banks, at the cost of clients.
