New York fines BNP Paribas $350 million in trading scheme

New York state regulators have fined French bank BNP Paribas $350 million, alleging bank employees for years manipulated global currency markets to benefit themselves at the expense of their customers.

The New York Department of Financial Services said Wednesday that from 2007 to 2013 at least a dozen BNP Paribas traders manipulated the foreign exchange market, using chat rooms and fake trades in currencies including the South African rand, Hungarian forint and Turkish lira.

All of the employees have been fired, resigned or disciplined. In a statement, BNP Paribas said it “deeply regrets” the employees’ misconduct.

Other banks have been fined by other regulators for similar schemes, including HSBC and JPMorgan Chase.