Surveillance of trading floors is becoming more sophisticated as regulators increase the pressure on banks to monitor what their traders are doing. Rogue traders, the fixing of Libor and the manipulation of foreign exchange rates have spurred both regulators and banks to take more notice of how traders are behaving, and the increased capabilities of technology has allowed more effective monitoring of this.
Back in November 2014, after an investigation into foreign exchange rates, a number of regulators fined six global banks a combined $4.3bn, with the largest fines – approximately $1bn apiece – going to Citigroup and JPMorgan. Traders were accused of manipulating foreign exchange rates, sharing confidential client information and triggering stop-loss orders – the point at which their clients want to sell – for their own gain. In turn, the banks were accused of having weak controls in place and poor oversight of their trading floors.
