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BLOOMBERG
Australia’s securities regulator is set to start civil legal proceedings against National Australia Bank Ltd. for allegedly manipulating the nation’s benchmark swap rate, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It will be the third such legal action in a more-than three-year investigation by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission into alleged manipulation of the bank-bill swap rate — the local equivalent of Libor also known as BBSW.
National Australia is working with ASIC on the investigation, Melbourne-based spokeswoman Meaghan Telford said by telephone, declining to comment on the pending legal action. The Australian Financial Review, which first reported the looming proceedings, said the regulator may file a statement of claim in court .
The regulator has been investigating the setting of the bank-bill swap rate since mid-2012 and has previously criticized a lack of cooperation from the nation’s banks. Civil proceedings have been lodged against Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp., while Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, UBS Group AG and BNP Paribas SA have made voluntary contributions of a combined A$3.6 million ($2.6 million) toward financial literacy projects.
The regulator hasn’t “made a decision about taking action against any other banks,†the AFR cited ASIC Chairman Greg Medcraft said.
a conference in Melbourne Thursday. “That does not mean we won’t make a decision in the next week or month,†the newspaper cited him as saying.