RBS rate-rigging fine 'could be £500m'

The scale of the fine due to be levied on the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for its attempts to manipulate the Libor interest rate could be as high as £500m, according to reports.

Citing two anonymous sources close to the situation, Bloomberg reports the fine would be the second-largest issued by regulators after UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest lender, was fined £940m in December. Previous reports suggested the fine could be £300m. Those reports also suggested investment banking chief John Hourican and head of markets Peter Nielsen may also be asked to leave, even though they may not have had direct knowledge of any wrongdoing. RBS chief executive Stephen Hester has already stated that he expects the bank to face a large fine. As well as the UBS penalty, Barclays...