Theres a New Sheriff in Town Global Regulatory Enforcement After LIBOR
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BANKING & PROJECT FINANCE ENFORCEMENT confidence in the integrity of the BBA Libor setting process and the accuracy of the There’s a new figures it produces’, journalists at Bloomberg and the WSJ were highlighting the issue. Regulators, notably the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) were sheriff in town to start investigating shortly thereafter. That investigation was to have something of a The Libor scandal fundamentally changed global long lead time, however, because it was not until 2012 that the reach and scale of the regulatory enforcement. Today, institutions are investigation were to become widely increasingly being deputised to police themselves publicised. On June 27 2012, Barclays received the raditionally, when a new sheriff rides were perceived to have been insufficiently then largest-ever fine imposed by the FSA of into town, the place is in a mess. aggressive in pursuing enforcement options £59.5 million ($87.7 million), as part of a T Society has broken down, lawlessness in the lead up to and during the financial settlement with US and UK regulators for abounds and right-thinking people avoid the crisis. In December 2008, the Madoff $453 million. Barclays also lost its chief streets. The saloon bars are full of rowdy, scandal would raise questions about whether executive, Bob Diamond. The Barclays fine intimidating gunslingers who go the Securities and Exchange Commission was soon eclipsed by the new largest-ever unchallenged – other than by fellow (SEC) had been overly light touch in its FSA fine meted out to UBS on December gunslingers. The town badly needs approach. In March 2009, Hector Sants, 19 2012, as part of a $1.5 billion settlement redemption (as does the sheriff, on then chief executive of the UK Financial with UK, US and Swiss regulators. Two occasion). The townspeople bestow a clear Services Authority (FSA), felt compelled to months later, on February 6 2013, RBS was mandate for change on their new law officer. announce the end of light touch regulation fined £87.5 million as part of a global He in turn enlists the support of deputies to by the regulator, with his memorable settlement of $612 million. In late 2013, clean the place up. Vigorous law declaration: “People should be very Rabobank was fined $1.07 billion. In July enforcement takes centre stage. frightened of the FSA”. 2014, Lloyds Bank was fined $370 million. This approach seems to have been Most significantly for the future, Libor Just over a year later, on November 11 adopted by regulators in the wake of the marked a paradigm shift in the nature, 2014, the Financial Conduct Authority Libor [London Interbank Offered Rate] international scope and intrusiveness of (FCA) imposed fines totalling £1.1 billion scandal. In the post-Libor world, they have regulatory enforcement activity. Both in on five banks, for failing to control business effectively deputised firms to pursue their practice, and as a matter of law, institutions practices and maintain proper systems and enforcement objectives. A combination of are increasingly being deputised by the controls in the banks’ foreign exchange (FX) structural changes to law and regulation, sheriff to police themselves across the world, trading activities between 2008 and 2013. and the practicalities surrounding identify responsible individuals for future Quite apart from their eye-watering size, international regulatory investigations, have enforcement purposes, attest to controls, these fines and the subsequent legislative led to the internalisation of enforcement and disprove guilt (as opposed to defending follow-up changed the enforcement type activity within firms. innocence) when a problem arises. landscape altogether. The result is a once-in-a-generation The tipping point imperative on senior business, compliance Lessons for enforcers and the The Libor scandal represented a tipping and legal management to implement not enforced point in the evolution of modern regulatory only major systems and controls changes, A number of key lessons have emerged from enforcement. It exhibited Malcolm but fundamental cultural change, before the that dramatic period. Gladwell’s three characteristics: next big scandal. Institutions will have to be contagiousness; the fact that otherwise able to demonstrate that they can police the Libor as the first global investigation – limited causes or incidents can have big town vigorously, including finding and opportunities and challenges effects; and the fact that change happens not shooting the gunslingers, if they are not to Libor became the first truly global financial gradually but in one dramatic moment or be in the sheriff’s sights themselves. investigation, despite its initially limited period. scope. At its height, Libor or related Libor was the touchpaper that led to an Libor: origins and outcomes benchmarks were being investigated by at least explosion of public and political outrage at Libor was a child born of the financial crisis. 12 regulators around the world. These the financial services industry that had In April 2008, bank analysts issued a included financial and competition regulators previously found some expression in the research note concluding that ‘the current in the US (CFTC, SEC, Department of wake of the financial crisis, but had still liquidity crisis has damaged the interbank Justice (DoJ)), the UK (FCA and Serious remained somewhat latent. That explosion market, resulting in Libor sets that at times Fraud Office), Germany (BaFin), Switzerland led not only to new laws and regulations, deviate significantly from real interbank (Swiss Comco), the European Commission, but more fundamentally to a renewed lending rates’. It also stated, rather Korea Fair Trade Commission, Hong Kong empowerment of global regulators. prophetically, that if Libor lost credibility Monetary Authority, Monetary Authority of Further empowered, the regulators have ‘the long-term psychological and economic Singapore and Japan Financial Services generated significant momentum in re- impacts this could have on the financial Agency. The FX investigation was to follow balancing their relationships with firms. In markets are incalculable’. suit in a very similar fashion. certain cases, this involved a rehabilitation of By May 2008, despite the British Bankers This profusion of international overseers the regulators themselves, some of whom Association’s (BBA) expression of ‘every presented firms and regulators with a novel, 64 IFLR/April 2015 www.iflr.com ENFORCEMENT complex, and not always harmonious firms. Far from it. The deputisation was A further issue when a firm is deputised in relationship dynamic. designed to supplement, not supplant, this way is the lack of clarity as to parallel On the face of it, answering questions or regulators’ efforts. This was explained by lines of communication between regulators, providing information to multiple regulators principle deputy assistant attorney general and the risks to which this gives rise. While might have given rise to logistical issues in Marshall Miller of the DoJ in a speech at the the UK, US, Swiss and other regulators will the past, but these were relatively easily GIR Programme in New York on September proudly announce their close cross-border navigable. A US regulator seeking 17 2014: cooperation at the time of settlements, it is information from a UK firm would “Some years ago there was a perception that rare in practice to obtain any real insight generally make a request for documents the Justice Department outsourced into levels of collaboration, including what through the international cooperation investigations of corporate criminal conduct to is or is not being shared during the course of section of the FCA. The UK regulator private law firms then sat back and waited for an investigation, prior to the settlement. would duly pass on the request in the form presentations and memos and hot docs to roll It can be dangerous to make any of a Notice of Requirement to the firm, in. At the Criminal Division, nothing could be assumptions in this context, for example exercising statutory powers of compulsion further from the truth”. that regulators are discussing matters at that disposed of Data Protection Act issues Miller was emphatic, as any fellow regulatory colleges or will generally pass on while requiring production. regulator would be, that while the DoJ material information in a timely and By contrast, following the spaghetti-like strongly encourages cooperation and firms comprehensive manner as between trail of global business lines and to carry out their own investigations, these themselves. Reasonable as it may be, if that responsibilities, employees moving from are just one of the many tools that are used assumption proves wrong, and the country to country with their work, and the to further investigations. They do not rely regulators perceive a failure of openness or other cross-border aspects of Libor gave rise on the internal investigation to make their cooperation by the firm in providing such to difficult – and occasionally delicate – case. information under principle 11 of the problems for regulators and firms alike. FCA’s Principles for Businesses in the UK, In the context of their international reach, A bobby on the beat or its equivalent elsewhere, the Libor highlighted the limitations on the Similarly, and echoing comments made by consequences can be severe. Goldman territorial jurisdiction of regulators. Given FCA Enforcement in December 2014, Sachs found this out when it was fined their own statutory and other restrictions, Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s £17.5 million in September 2010 by the not to mention comity and sovereign Enforcement Division, made the point at a FSA for breach of principle 11, among authority issues with other regulators, they Corporate Governance conference on others, for its failure to keep the FSA could not simply march into another February 10 2015: “It is obviously an active informed of material developments in a country to follow the trail inevitably laid by regulatory atmosphere, we think it is non-Libor SEC investigation.