LONDON: Britain’s financial watchdog said on Monday it had fined former Royal Bank of Scotland interest rate derivatives trader Neil Danziger £250,000 (SR1.27 million) and banned him from working in any regulated financial activity.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a statement it had found that between 2007 and 2010 Danziger, who traded products referenced to Japanese Yen Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) for RBS, was knowingly involved in the bank’s failure to observe proper standards of market conduct.
Danziger disputes the FCA’s findings and feels he is being “scapegoated for the systemic problems related to Libor,” his lawyer, Ben Rose, a partner at law firm Hickman and Rose, said.
However, the ex-trader is too emotionally and financially drained to fight further, Rose said in a statement, adding: “He leaves it to others, better resourced, to press the FCA for answers, hopeful that, one day, the real truth will come out.”
Danziger was dismissed by RBS over Libor-rigging at the end of 2011. The bank was fined £390 million by UK and US authorities for its part in the global scandal that also engulfed a number of the world’s other biggest banks.
“Proper standards of market conduct reflect the interests of the whole community in the well-being of our financial markets,” Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said on Monday.
“Mr Danziger’s reckless disregard of these standards has no place in the financial services industry.”
Libor underpins hundreds of trillions of dollars of transactions and is used to set rates on credit cards, student loans and mortgages.
The FCA said Danziger had routinely made requests to RBS’s primary submitters with the intention of benefitting the trading positions for which he and other derivatives traders were responsible, and took those positions into account when acting as a substitute submitter. It also said Danziger entered into 28 “wash trades” — risk-free trades, with the same party, in pairs that cancel each other and for which there was no legitimate commercial rationale — to facilitate payments to two broker firms for personal hospitality.
UK financial watchdog fines, bans former RBS Libor trader
UK financial watchdog fines, bans former RBS Libor trader
Acwa signs key terms to develop 5GW of renewable energy capacity in Turkiye
JEDDAH: Saudi utility giant Acwa has signed key investment agreements with Turkiye’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to develop up to 5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, starting with 2GW of solar power across two plants in Sivas and Taseli.
Under the investment agreement, Acwa will develop, finance, and construct, as well as commission and operate both facilities, according to a press release.
The program builds on the company’s first investment in Turkiye, the 927-megawatt Kirikkale Independent Power Plant, valued at $930 million, which offsets approximately 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, the statement added.
A separate power purchase agreement has been concluded with Elektrik Uretim Anonim Sirketi for the sale of electricity generated by each facility.
Turkiye aims to boost solar and wind capacity to 120GW by 2035, supported by around $80 billion in investment, while recent projects have already helped prevent 12.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and reduced reliance on imported natural gas.
Turkiye’s energy sector has undergone a rapid transformation in recent years, with renewable power emerging as a central pillar of its strategy.
Raad Al-Saady, vice chairman and managing director of ACWA, said: “The signing of the IA (implementation agreement) and PPA key terms marks a pivotal moment in Acwa’s partnership with Turkiye, reflecting the country’s strong potential as a clean energy leader and manufacturing powerhouse.”
He added: “Building on our long-standing presence, including the 927MW Kirikkale Power Plant commissioned in 2017, this step elevates our partnership to a new level,” Al-Saady said.
In its statement, Acwa said the 5GW renewable energy program will deliver electricity at fixed prices, enhancing predictability for grid planning and supporting long-term industrial investment.
By replacing imported fossil fuels with domestically generated clean energy, the initiative is expected to reduce Turkiye’s exposure to global energy market volatility, strengthening energy security and lowering long-term power costs.
The company added that the economic impact will extend beyond the anticipated investment of up to $5 billion in foreign direct investment, with thousands of jobs expected during the construction phase and hundreds of high-skilled roles created during operations.
The energy firm concluded that its existing progress in Turkiye reflects a strong appreciation for Turkish engineering, construction, and manufacturing capacity, adding that localization has been a strategic priority, and it has already achieved 100 percent local employment at its developments in the country.
