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By Jamie McGeever
LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank,Germany's biggest bank, has suspended several currency tradersin New York in an internal probe that forms part of aninternational investigation into alleged manipulation of theglobal currency markets, a source familiar with the matter saidon Wednesday.
Multiple traders in New York and possibly elsewhere in theAmericas are affected after investigations into "communicationsacross a number of currencies," the source said.
The source didn't say how many traders had been suspended orwhat currencies they traded.
Deutsche Bank said it would not comment on individual staffmembers.
"Deutsche Bank has received requests for information fromregulatory authorities that are investigating trading in theforeign exchange market," it said in a statement. "The Bank iscooperating with those investigations, and will takedisciplinary action with regards to individuals if merited."
Last year, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority began aformal investigation into possible manipulation in the $5.3trillion-a-day global FX market. The U.S. Justice Department isalso engaged in an active investigation of possible manipulationof the market, the world's largest.
Benchmark foreign exchange rates, often referred to asfixes, are a cornerstone of global financial markets, used toprice trillions of dollars worth of investments and deals andrelied upon by companies, investors and central banks.
Deutsche Bank has been the biggest FX trader in the worldfor nine years running, seeing 15.18 percent of global dailyturnover in 2013, according to Euromoney magazine.
The FX case adds to Deutsche Bank's troubles after it had topay a fine of 725 million euros, levied by European Unionantitrust regulators for interest-rate manipulation in December.
The bank has also been named in cases related to thesub-prime crisis, credit default swaps, mortgages, tax evasionand the decade-old Kirsch lawsuit.
The list of scandals and investigations has put the bank'stwo chief executives, Juergen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, underpressure to clean house and brought them into conflict withregulators and the German finance ministry over the slow pace ofreforms.
German daily Die Welt, citing people familiar with theinvestigations, said on Wednesday one Deutsche Bank trader inNew York who traded Argentine pesos had been suspended.
According to Die Welt, emails were found that led tosuspicion that rates had possibly been manipulated, the papersaid in a story published in its Wednesday edition.
Deutsche has extended a ban on the use of multi-dealeronline chat rooms to all its corporate banking and securitiesbusiness on January 1.
Chat rooms have been a focus for regulators investigatingmanipulation of benchmark interest rates and possible rigging inthe FX market.
Traders at banks and financial institutions oftencommunicate with each other online via third-party servicesincluding Bloomberg LP and Thomson Reuters.
Deutsche, Citigroup, UBS, Barclays,Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan and othershave all said they are cooperating with regulators scrutinisingthe market.
Citigroup, RBS, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered have already fired, suspended, or put currency traders on leave.
