HSBC Holdings PLC Parts Ways with Head of Currency Trading Stuart Scott

Not long after the first fine decisions related to the FX industry have been announced, HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBC) is the first bank to let go of its head of currency trading. The company has dismissed Stuart Scott, citing his connection with the global investigations of the foreign exchange fixings.

The violations committed by HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBC) have led to the bank paying $620 million in fines on both sides of the Atlantic, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal.

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Scott was fired from the biggest (by assets) UK bank on December 9th from a role that involved supervising the bank’s foreign-exchange trading operations. He joined the bank in 2007, according to the UK financial regulator’s register.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial regulator, announced fines totalling 1.1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) for five prominent banks because of ineffective controls among foreign exchange traders between January 1, 2008 and October 15, 2013.

At the same time, the US CFTC ordered five banks to pay over $1.4 billion in penalties for manipulation of Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates between 2009 and 2012.

Scott is under investigation by the US Justice Department for allegedly leaking information about client foreign exchange markets positions to a major hedge fund. At the time of publication, the matter remains unresolved and only adds to the justifications for HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBC) to part ways with Scott.