Was Today The Most Miserable Day in RBS History?

As RBS is partially state-owned, the penalty had the potential to create political outrage in Britain, as it could significantly affect earnings. However, the bank’s board decided to cut bonuses in order to pay the fine, which is the second-largest in the banking investigation so far.

Almost two dozen traders at RBS offices in London, Singapore, and Tokyo were found to have participated in the manipulation of Libor. As the bank announced, all 21 “wrongdoers” have either resigned their positions or been “severely disciplined.” John Hourican, the chief executive of the bank’s Markets and International Banking division, will also leave RBS. Although he had no knowledge of the misconduct, the bank said, it was his group that was responsible for the misconduct.

UBS agreed to pay a fine of $1.5 billion to regulators in the United States, Great Britain, and Switzerland last December, while Barclays paid $453 million in penalties and its three most senior executives resigned, including chief executive Bob Diamond…