RBC Capital Markets co-head of FX trading leaves bank
By Jamie McGeever
LONDON (Reuters) - Graeme King has left his role as co-head of foreign exchange spot trading at RBC Capital Markets , the bank confirmed on Friday, marking the fourth high profile industry departure this week.
The bank said his exit was not related to the global investigation into allegations of currency rate manipulation. London-based King wasn't immediately available for comment
Market sources said he had been working at RBC as recently as Thursday.
"We do not comment on employee matters, but any suggestion that this is related to the broader FX regulatory investigations is incorrect," a spokesperson for RBC said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
King joined RBC in June 2011, according to the Financial Conduct Authority register of approved market participants. Media reports at the time say he joined from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch .
UK regulators said this week that their probe into the currency manipulation and collusion allegations would likely continue into 2015.
Martin Wheatley, chief executive of Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, said the allegations are "every bit as bad" as those in the Libor interest rate-rigging scandal, which has so far cost banks $6 billion in fines and settlements.
The investigators are looking into online and chatroom communications between traders at some of the world's biggest banks. More than 20 traders have been placed on leave, suspended or fired since June last year.
King's exit comes the same week as three high-level departures at foreign exchange operations at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs .
Anil Prasad is standing down from his position as global head of foreign exchange at Citi in London for reasons unrelated to the investigations underway.
At Goldman in New York, Steven Cho, global head of G-10 spot and forward trading, and Leland Lim, co-head of macro trading for Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, both retired from the bank.
(Created by Jamie McGeever)
