Crisis-hit RBS is one of a raft of global banking giants punished as part of a record-breaking 1.7 billion euro settlement with European regulators following the latest rate-rigging crackdown.
Eight banks have agreed penalties with the European Commission over allegations they formed cartels to fix two key benchmark interest rates used to set the price of trillions of dollars of financial products, from mortgages to complex financial products.
RBS will pay a total of 391m euros for its role in the attempted rigging of the Yen Libor and Euribor the Tokyo and euro area equivalents of the London interbank offered rate (Libor).
Barclays is immune from a potential 690m euro penalty after blowing the whistle on the Euribor cartel. The sanctions the first from the EC on rate manipulation are the highest yet for European antitrust enforcement.
Barclays and state-backed RBS have already been fined after an investigation into the rigging of Libor, paying penalties of £290m and £391m respectively.
The reprimand is just the latest setback for Edinburgh-based RBS following IT gaffes, a recent profit warning, criticism of its record on small business lending, and a fresh investigation into claims it profited from forcing struggling firms under.
“We acknowledged back in February that there were serious shortcomings in our systems and controls on this issue, but also in the integrity of a very small number of our employees,” chairman Philip Hampton said.
“Today is another sobering reminder of those past failings, and nobody should be in any doubt about how seriously we have taken this issue.
“The RBS board and new management team condemn the behaviour of the individuals who were involved in these activities. There is no place for it at RBS.”
Other banks fined by the EC in the Euribor case are German group Deutsche Bank and French player Societe Generale.
Those involved in the Yen Libor case are RBS, Swiss group UBS, Deutsche Bank, US giants JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup, and UK-based wholesale broker RP Martin. UBS avoided a $2.5bn fine after flagging up the Yen Libor cartel with the EC.
British bank HSBC is understood to have pulled out of the Euribor settlement talks, alongside US group JPMorgan Chase & Co and French group Credit Agricole, while broker ICAP is said to have refused settlement in the Yen Libor probe. The EC said investigations involving these firms will continue.
Barclays said it “voluntarily” reported the Euribor cartel to the EC and “co-operated fully” with the investigation.