RBS suspends two more staff as part of forex investigation

RBS has already suspended three employees who were among six placed in a disciplinary process

RBS was one of six major international banks fined a combined £2.6 billion last month for failing to stop traders rigging the foreign exchange markets (Getty)

Royal Bank of Scotland has suspended another two employees during the course of its investigation into the forex scandal.

The bank, which declined to comment on the identity of the workers, said today: "We can confirm that two members of staff have been suspended as part of the on-going FX investigation at the bank."

RBS, which is 79 per cent owned by the Government, launched an internal review into its forex activities after it was one of six major international banks fined a combined £2.6 billion last month for failing to stop traders rigging the foreign exchange markets.

The bank’s chief executive, Ross McEwan, said at the time: "To say I am angry would be an understatement. We had people working at this bank who did not know the difference between right and wrong."

RBS has already suspended three employees who were among six placed in a disciplinary process. It also said it was reviewing the conduct of more than 50 current and former traders who were involved in the part of the investment bank that was the focus of the regulators' investigations.

RBS paid £217m in Britain and $290m in the US as part of the forex settlement, when authorities said traders had shared confidential information about client orders and coordinated trades to boost their own profits.

The Times reported that the Financial Conduct Authority is escalating its supervision of foreign exchange traders in the City after the discovery of further misconduct by the US Department of Justice.

It said the latest cases relate to the rigging of emerging market currencies, which did not form part of the FCA's internal investigation.

The DoJ, Federal Reserve and New York's financial regulator are still probing banks over foreign exchange trading.

Additional reporting by Reuters