Hong Kong probes UBS over Hibor Hong Kong is probing possible misconduct by UBS regarding the Chinese territory's Interbank Offered Rate, as the global investigation into interbank lending rate manipulation expands. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Thursday said it was investigating certain conduct by the Swiss bank after receiving information from overseas regulators. The central bank said it was assessing whether that conduct, "if substantiated," had had any "material impact" on the setting of Hibor. UBS on Wednesday agreed to pay $1.5bn to regulators to settle allegations that it had manipulated interbank lending rates. A US official said the alleged efforts were "epic in scale." The penalty was the highest paid by a bank to US and UK regulators. Two former UBS traders face criminal charges in the worldwide Libor scandal. Following the HKMA announcement, a UBS spokesman in Hong Kong said the bank would "continue to work closely with various regulatory authorities to resolve issues relating to the setting of certain global benchmark interest rates." It declined to comment further because of the "active discussions with authorities." US and UK banking regulators on Wednesday were heavily critical of practices at UBS in connection with the manipulation of Libor rates. Libor is compiled in 10 currencies from banks" estimates of their daily borrowing rates. The investigations alleged that UBS brokers, traders and managers around the globe - including in the US, Japan, London and Switzerland - were involved in an effort to manipulate interest rates in five currencies. According to the UK Financial Services Authority, 40 UBS employees, traders at five other banks, and 11 employees at brokerages were involved in or aware of efforts to manipulate interbank lending rates in different currencies. The interbank rates are a critical benchmark for pricing derivatives, which makes a swing of a few basis points the difference between large profits or heavy losses. Drawing on emails and internal communications, the UK FSA's investigation detailed 2,000 requests to move rates, including more than 800 internal conversations at UBS and more than 1,100 external contacts. The HKMA said in its statement that it would follow up with "relevant regulatory overseas regulatory authorities to gather relevant information concerning the case." The HKMA declined to comment further on the status of its investigation.