Forex probes may lead to further regulation of industry: Saxo Bank CEO

Recent investigations into alleged manipulation of foreign exchange rates could be used by politicians as an excuse for new regulation of the industry, the co-head of Denmark's Saxo Bank has warned. Benchmark foreign exchange rates, often referred to as fixes, are a cornerstone of global financial markets, used to price trillions of dollars worth of investments and deals and relied upon by companies, investors and central banks. Regulators in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong said last month they were investigating conduct in currency markets, while a top federal prosecutor in the United States said last week the U.S. Justice Department had launched a criminal probe. "You could fear that the one market which regulators and politicians haven't got their teeth into yet is FX and, for sure, politicians can't wait to get their teeth into anything to do with financial markets," Lars Christensen, co-chief executive of Saxo Bank, said late on Saturday on the sidelines of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.



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