Hong Kong has launched an investigation into "possible misconduct" by UBS in submissions for Hong Kong's inter-bank lending rate.

The investigation comes a day after the Swiss bank was fined $1.5bn (£940m) [2]by regulators in the US, UK and Switzerland for manipulating the interbank lending rate.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said it has received information from "overseas regulatory authorities about possible misconduct by UBS involving submissions for the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate and other reference rates in this region".

The regulator said that it had launched an investigation to see if any of UBS's actions had a "material impact."

It is part of a worldwide investigation into the rigging of the Libor rate.

The US Justice Department said also charged Tom Hayes, a British former Tokyo-based trader, and Roger Darin, a Switzerland-based managing director responsible for the bank’s Libor submissions, with conspiracy.

They are the first to face criminal charges in the investigation into Libor manipulation by global regulators. Hayes was one of the three men arrested last week [3] in connection with the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into rate-fixing.

UBS was the second bank to be been fined over Libor after Barclays was ordered to pay hefty fines to UK and US authorities [4]earlier this year.

The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has alleged that the bank's Tokyo office made corrupt payments to brokerages.

UBS's fine is more than three times the £290m fine levied on Barclays in June for attempting to rig the Libor benchmark rate used to price financial contracts around the world.

This story can be read in full at economia [5].