The UK's financial regulator has for the first time publicly banned a trader over LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate) manipulations.

The Financial Conduct Authority has banned a Rabobank former trader, Paul Robson, from the UK financial services industry for “lacking honesty and integrity”, following his LIBOR fraud conviction.

Last year, Robson, a UK citizen, pleaded guilty in the US for the role he played in a conspiracy to manipulate Rabobank’s yen LIBOR submissions to benefit trading positions. He is due for sentencing in 2017 in the US.

Although the FCA has issued 14 warning notices to date over interest rate benchmarks, the ban is its first public action against a trader for manipulating LIBOR submissions. It follows recent enforcement action the regulator took against two former senior executives at Martin Brokers, David Caplin and Jeremy Kraft, over their LIBOR compliance shortcomings.

“No excuse can be made for Mr Robson’s behaviour, which was particularly serious. He was the primary submitter of yen LIBOR at Rabobank for a number of years and experienced in the market. He knew what he was doing was wrong,” said the FCA's acting director of enforcement and market oversight, Georgina Philippou, in a statement.

“This ban reinforces our expectation that individuals and firms take responsibility for ensuring market integrity and reminds them of the consequences if they fall short of our standards.”

The watchdog said it continues to investigate individuals’ behaviour with regards to LIBOR misconduct.