Last week, further proof of the manipulation of gold and silver – as if any more were needed – came to light as FINMA, Switzerland’s financial watchdog, announced that it had discovered “serious misconduct” and a “clear attempt to manipulate precious metals benchmarks” by UBS (Switzerland’s biggest bank) in precious metals trading, particularly with silver.
The fallout from the fix has had dramatic and looming consequences in the marketplace. As Jonathan Butler, an analyst at Mitsubishi, told Reuters:
“The changes that we see at the moment, whether it’s GOFO no longer being published, or the move towards exchanges running the precious metals benchmarks, are indicative of the market preparing for greater regulation, particularly on gold and silver.”
And how are those responsible for the fixing being punished. Essentially just a slap on the wrist. As Hard Assets reports:
Switzerland’s financial regulator said it would limit bonuses for some UBS employees, as it ordered the bank to disgorge 134 million Swiss francs (138.98 million US dollars) (87.26 million pound) in a foreign exchange trading probe.
FINMA said variable pay for UBS forex and precious metals employees globally would be limited to 200% of their basic salary for two years. Hardly a deterrent to criminal financial behaviour.
So much for punishing “serious misconduct”…
Photo courtesy of silverinvestingnews.com