Australia Rates Probe Turns to Westpac With New Court Action
- ASIC accuses bank of trying to set `artificial' BBSW pricing
- Westpac rejects allegation, will `vigorously defend' claim
Westpac Bank in Melbourne
Photographer: Carla Gottgens/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Australia’s securities regulator said it has started civil legal proceedings against Westpac Banking Corp. for allegedly manipulating one of the nation’s benchmark interest rates, the second such action in a more than a three-year investigation.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has commenced civil penalty proceedings against the Sydney-based lender, it said in a statement Tuesday. It alleged that Westpac traded in a manner intended to create an “artificial” price for bank bills on 16 occasions during the period of April 2010 to June 2012. Westpac, in a statement, rejected ASIC’s allegation and said it will “vigorously defend” the court proceedings.