UBS Said Poised to Receive EU Immunity in Currency Rigging Probe - swissinfo.ch

UBS Said Poised to Receive EU Immunity in Currency Rigging Probe - swissinfo.ch

UBS AG is poised to receive immunity from European Union currency-rigging fines after it was the first to approach regulators in the probe, according to a person with knowledge of the case.

UBS, which avoided a 2.5 billion-euro ($3.45 billion) penalty in the EU’s Libor probe, was again first to cooperate in the currency investigation, said the person, who declined to be identified because the process is confidential. The move is likely to spark a backlash from critics who say the bank has received enough forgiveness.

“To get off scot-free, I think, is not the right message to send,” Arlene McCarthy, the lawmaker who led the EU’s work on creating criminal sanctions for bankers who rig benchmarks, said in an interview. “I’m not in favor of the confessional approach not attracting any fines or sanctions.”