Swiss bank UBS has agreed to pay a $1.5 billion fine for its role in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
Reuters reports that UBS' fine was agreed upon with U.S., U.K. and Swiss authorities. The bulk of the payment, $1.2 billion, will go to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, with the remainder divided between the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority and the Swiss financial services regulator Finma.
UBS' settlement is, to date, the largest connected to the LIBOR scandal and the second largest penalty leveled against a financial institution.
‘We deeply regret this inappropriate and unethical behavior,’ said UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti in a statement. ‘No amount of profit is more important than the reputation of this firm.’
Ermotti added that approximately 40 people had left UBS or had been asked to leave as a result of the LIBOR scandal.