German finance watchdog fines Deutsche Bank for EURIBOR controls

The logo of Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin (Bundesanstalt fuer Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) is pictured outside an office building of the BaFin in Bonn, Germany, April 15, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

FRANKFURT, Dec 29 (Reuters) – The German financial regulator BaFin on Wednesday said it had fined Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) $10 million for controls related to the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR), a setback for the nation’s largest lender as it seeks to restore its reputation.

The fine of 8.66 million euros ($9.77 million) is the first imposed by BaFin under a 2018 regulation that seeks to prevent manipulation of the rate, a benchmark used in the financial industry.

“The bank at times did not have in place effective preventive systems, controls and policies,” BaFin said.

Deutsche Bank said it accepted the fine and had implemented measures to improve its controls regarding EURIBOR.

“Deutsche Bank has no indication that the fined issue led to incorrect submissions to the benchmark administrator,” the bank said.

The bank has been the subject of numerous regulatory and legal investigations over the past decade.

In April, BaFin ordered Deutsche Bank to enact further safeguards to prevent money laundering.

Under new leadership, BaFin has also been trying to restore its image, which was battered after it failed to spot wrongdoing ahead of the collapse last year of German payments company Wirecard.

($1 = 0.8853 euros)

($1 = 0.8861 euros)

Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by Riham Alkousaa, Jason Neely and Louise Heavens

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