Deutsche Bank fined in US for trying to rig benchmark rate

NEW YORK: US regulators said they have fined Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender, $70 million for attempted manipulation of an interest rate benchmark.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said in a statement late Thursday that it had ordered the German bank to pay the fine after finding that its subsidiary, Deutsche Bank Securities, "made false reports and through the acts of multiple traders attempted to manipulate the US Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix (USD ISDAFIX)."

The ISDAFIX is global benchmark for interest-rate derivatives and other financial instruments.

The attempted manipulation took place between January 2007 and May 2012 and traders "knew their conduct was illegal," the CFTC said.

"There is no room in our markets for manipulation," said CFTC's enforcement director, James McDonald.

Deutsche Bank has been received a number of fines in the US for market manipulation.

In April 2015, it reached a $2.5 billion global settlement with authorities in London, Washington and New York over the manipulation of the key London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR), which influences transactions around the world.

Other banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Citibank and Goldman Sachs, have also been fined for attempting to manipulate the ISDAFIX.