'People buying rand would have been affected by bank collusion'
Seventeen banks have now been referred to the Competition Tribunal for manipulating the value of the rand.
JOHANNESBURG – The Competition Commission says people buying the rand would have been affected by the actions of 17 banks that have now been referred to the Competition Tribunal for manipulating its value.
The commission also says it has strong evidence that these banks were communicating with each other to coordinate the timing of their trades, and created false bids to distort the market.
The banks include foreign banks like JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisse, and local institutions such as Absa Bank, Standard Bank and Investec.
Competition Commissioner Thembinkosi Bonakele says what was happening was serious.
“There has clearly been manipulation that would have affected the buyers of the currency.”
He says they're very certain of their case.
Bonakele says it seems likely that the banks will opt to settle rather than go through a long process.
POLITICAL REACTION
The African National Congress (ANC) says the findings by the commission have raised doubts about the capabilities, trust and independence of the country's banks.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says it will be writing to the South African Reserve Bank to immediately discontinue banking and operating licenses of the banks named.
The banks named in the case are:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited
BNP Paribas
JP Morgan Chase & Co
JP Morgan Chase Bank NA
Investec Ltd
Standard New York Securities Inc
HSBC Bank Plc
Standard Chartered Bank
Credit Suisse Group
Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd
Commerzbank AG
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
Nomura International Plc
Macquarie Bank Limited
ABSA Bank Limited
Barclays Capital Inc
Barclays Bank plc
(Edited by Tamsin Wort)
