Barclays gives information to U.S. precious metals probe
Reuters - Mar 03, 2015
Barclays has been providing information to an investigation into precious metals by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), the bank said in its 2014 annual report on Tuesday, a week after a similar statement by HSBC.
The DoJ and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating at least 10 banks for possible rigging of precious metals markets, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people close to the inquiries.
Tuesday's acknowledgment of its involvement in the investigation comes after HSBC said in its annual report on Feb. 23 that the DoJ had issued a request to HSBC Holdings in November seeking documents related to a criminal antitrust investigation it was conducting.
The latest investigation is a further distraction for a bank battling to cut costs and boost profit even as it prepares to settle allegations that its traders manipulated foreign exchange markets. Taking into account charges, provisions and restructuring costs, the bank suffered a 21 percent drop in full-year net profit, it said on Tuesday.
Regulatory scrutiny of precious metals trading and benchmarking has increased since the Libor rigging scandal exposed widespread manipulation of interest rates in the foreign exchange market.
