RBS traders 'tried to fly above law' as taxpayer-owned bank hit with 392m fine "Even after all of these Libor cases were being investigated, it is amazing that RBS employees tried to fly above the law," said Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the CFTC. They acted as if they were the masters of the universe and the rules of fair play just didn't apply. Emails released by the CFTC reveal traders' disregard for the rules, with one trader writing: "It's just amazing how Libor fixing can make you that much money" and another saying "The jpy Libor is a cartel now." The fresh damage to RBS's reputation risks reigniting public anger over the £45.5bn bail-out taxpayers were forced to stump up in 2008 to prevent the bank's collapse. It also deepens the government's headache over how quickly it can return the bank, which is still 81pc government owned, to private ownership. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said that the prospect remains a "distant dream." RBS said the regulator's investigations uncovered wrongdoing on the part of 21 employees, predominantly in relation to the setting of the bank's Yen and Swiss Franc Libor submissions. Stephen Hester, the chief executive of RBS, said he was "disgusted" and "depressed" by their behaviour. He said the people involved had done wrong, adding the bank's total pay pool will be cut by £300m. Mr Hester, who was parachuted in as chief executive in late 2008 after former boss Fred Goodwin was ousted, described the manipulation of Libor as "an extreme example of a selfish and self-serving culture that took hold in parts of the banking industry during the financial boom." The bank has not admitted criminal liability in the US but has accepted criminal charges against its business in Japan. It has also agreed a "deferred prosecution agreement" with US authorities, which means it can keep its US banking licence provided it doesn't step out of line again. The findings highlighted serious failures in the controls and risk management systems but RBS said none of the regulators "concluded that RBS, as a firm, had engaged in any deliberate misconduct." "There are no findings that anyone beyond individual traders and, in some instances, their immediate supervisors, was aware of, or instructed, any deliberate manipulation of submissions, nor is there any finding that RBS suppressed Libor submissions at the direction of senior management," RBS said. Whatever the individual wrongdoing of traders, the CFTC said that the bank made it easier by sitting traders alongside those employees responsible for making the Libor submissions on a daily basis. As part of the settlement, John Hourican, the head of RBS's investment bank, will leave. The bank insisted that he had no knowledge or involvement in the manipulation. He will go handing over his responsibilities and will leave the bank with the minimum pay-off to which he is entitled - a year's basic salary of £700,000 and give up a bonus pot worth £4m. The bank is the latest lender to settle with regulators after Barclays last summer and UBS in December. The FSA is currently working on reforming the Libor rate, which is still calculated when banks make their submissions to the British Bankers Association. RBS shares were up 1.1pc at 341.2p in afternoon trading.