Ex­Barclays trader probed over Rabobank links

A trader at the centre of ratemanipulation allegations levelled at Barclays communicated with counterparts at Rabobank, the Dutch bank, about trading positions related to Euribor, the Financial Times has learnt.
Regulators are examining communications between Philippe Moryoussef, a senior euro swaps trader at Barclays until 2007, and Rabobank, according to people familiar with the investigation. The involvement of Rabobank, which until June was triple A rated, sheds light on the trajectory of part of the worldwide probe into rigging of key interbank lending rates.
The Dutch central bank is examining submissions to Euribor, the Brussels interbank lending rate determined by averaging 43 panel banks’ responses. Dutch involvement adds to at least 10 other regulators and criminal prosecutors that are probing as many as 20 financial institutions.
Barclays was the first to settle its part in the Libor and Euribor probe, paying ?290m in fines to US agencies and the UK’s Financial Services Authority in June.
Anonymous FSA findings accompanying the settlement state that Trader E – which people familiar ith the documents confirmed was Mr Moryoussef – and five other swaps traders at Barclays regularly communicated with peers at six other banks on the Euribor panel.
As well as Rabobank, the FT reported that those banks included HSBC, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank and Credit Agricole. No individual has been accused of wrongdoing and regulators’ probes into banks, except Barclays, are continuing.
Barclays and Rabobank are among seven defendants named in a class action alleging Euribor manipulation filed in New York. Rabobank and Barclays declined to comment. Dutch press reported last month that Rabobank fired four UK-based submitters between 2008 and 2011 who had cut deals with traders at other institutions.
Mr Moryoussef was a senior figure among the Euribor community. Guido Ravoet, chief executive of the European Banking Federation, which publishes Euribor, said Mr Moryoussef, 44, was shortlisted to join the governance committee of Euribor. However, Mr Ravoet added that Mr Moryoussef, who by then had joined the Royal Bank of Scotland, ultimately never became a member and the EBF scrapped the idea of having a UK bank representative on the steering committee. A lawyer for Mr Moryoussef declined to comment.
Source: FINANCIAL TIMES