The settlement agreement reached between the Competition Commission and UK bank Standard Chartered, according to JOHANNESBURG-Non-Profit Organization Public Interest SA, has “underwhelmed” it.
One of the more than twenty banks involved in a scheme to manipulate the Rand-US dollar exchange rate between 2007 and 2013 is Standard Chartered.
The commission announced last week that, among other things, the bank had agreed to pay an administrative fine of R42.7 million and that it had admitted to fixing bids, offers, bid-offers, spot exchange rates, and the exchange rate.
The commission applauded the result, but according to Public Interest SA, the fine seems insufficient.
Concerns about Standard Chartered’s harsh behavior and its effects on the economy have been raised by Public Interest SA.
Additionally, the organization claims that the bank should have been subjected to punitive damages by the Competition Commission.
Additionally, the legislature is urged to enact “more severe penalties against errant financial institutions.”
including the possibility of personally fining executives.
According to the organization, currency manipulation is being used more frequently as a strategy to combat emerging markets.
South Africa describes this as an “insidious practice” that “represents a contemporary method used by greedy economic actors, reminiscent of economic hitmen, operating under the guise of corporate entities.”