Foreign Exchange Probe: NY regulator subpoenas three banks

WASHINGTON: The New York state financial regulator has subpoenaed three major European banks and a US peer in a probe of foreign-exchange rigging, according to sources. The sources said that the regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, had sought information about currency practices from French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale. One of the sources said Credit Suisse and Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs were also targeted. The subpoenas, served in December to BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, ask the banks for documents related to their currency operations, said one of the sources, adding that Lawsky was particularly interested in finding out the specific technologies the banks used. Lawsky is investigating the use of chat rooms and instant messaging by forex traders to rig the price of currencies on the market. The four banks are cooperating with Lawsky, the person said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2015.

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