Research On The Regulation Of Benchmark Index Manipulation

With the supervision and crackdown of national regulators on traditional price manipulation,some market participants have gradually shifted the target of manipulation to the areas that national regulators do not take care or are still in the legislative blank.The manipulation of the Benchmark Index in recent years is a case in point.Benchmark manipulation is a new mode of market manipulation,which means that the manipulator influences the data source of the benchmark through various means to manipulate the benchmark index and eventually distort the price of relevant financial products with the benchmark as the reference standard.In essence,it is a kind of indirect market manipulation,which belongs to the inferior concept of market manipulation as well as cross-market manipulation.The most famous examples of benchmark manipulation were years of manipulation of Libor by prominent Banks such as Barclays and UBS between 2005 and 2010.With the awakening of regulators,regulators in foreign exchange,energy and other markets have also found cases of manipulation of benchmark index.In order to ensure the integrity of the global financial benchmark,only in the U.S.market,by the end of January 2020,the CFTC have issued a total of nearly $6 billion fine,penalty's benchmark index of manipulator.China launched Shibor and LPR in 2007 and 2013 respectively,which are the most critical benchmark interest rates in China's financial market.With the overall progress of the derivatives market and the illegal precedent of the us market,it is not difficult to foresee that China's benchmark index may be manipulated objectively.However,this kind of manipulation is beyond the scope of China's financial regulation,and there are legal gaps in both pre-supervision and post-enforcement,which still need to be perfect by legislation.Benchmark manipulation poses a challenge to the current laws and regulations in China.In light of the above,this paper takes the benchmark index manipulation case penalized by the us commodity futures commission(CFTC)as a fresh case to study the regulatory system of benchmark index manipulation.In this paper,the text is grouped into four chapters:The first chapter is the basis of the research.Firstly,the basic concept of benchmark index is clarified and the important role of benchmark in financial market is analyzed.Secondly,according to the nature and importance of the classification of the benchmark is introduced;Thirdly,it discusses the essence of benchmark index manipulation and its relationship with market manipulation,and interrogate the previous theory of "market manipulation".Finally,the differences between this manipulation mode and other manipulative behaviors are analyzed from the aspects of behavior subject,manipulation motivation and harmful consequences.The above analysis lays a solid theoretical foundation for the subsequent argumentation.In part two,under the setting of previous theories,the author makes an in-depth interpretation of benchmark index manipulation cases investigated and dealt with by the CFTC over the years.Through analyzing the control cases of interest rate,exchange rate and energy,we can understand the motive of the actor's illegal act and the causes of manipulation,and summarize the behavior pattern and logic chain of manipulation.Based on law administrative practice and judicial practice,we can offer vivid materials for summarizing the characteristics of benchmark manipulation,so as to deepen the cognition of the principle of benchmark manipulation.The third chapter is mainly a mirror of international regulatory experience.Tocheck into the supervision of benchmark of international organizations such as the international organization of securities commissions,the European Union and the United States and mature financial markets.Firstly,it analyzes the supervision of the benchmark index by the international organization of securities commissions.The purpose of the financial benchmark reporting principles published by the CSRC is to draw up a macro regulatory framework for the supervision of the benchmark index.Secondly,it analyzes the regulation of European Union benchmark index,which is the guidance and suggestion of each member state benchmark index regulation.Finally,this paper analyzes the legislation and regulatory system of benchmark index manipulation in the United States,evaluates the relevant regulations and application of Commodity Exchange act and securities exchange act,and specifies the regulatory opinion of the United States to this new manipulation mode.The fourth chapter discusses the reference index manipulation and supervision of our country's enlightenment.First of all,the paper discusses the present circumstance of our country's benchmark index regulation,soon afterwards,the benchmark index to manipulate a challenge to China's current legal provisions,in the end,rest template for advanced outside supervision system,taking into account the situation in our country financial regulation,based on the feasibility,efficacy,from the legal system,regulators,self-discipline organizations and financial institutions in the four aspects discusses how to set up the benchmark supervision legal framework.Standardize the definition of benchmark index and benchmark manipulation,illustrate the regulatory responsibilities of regulator,take advantage of managers' self-discipline supervision in the middle zone between the government and the market,and diversify the internal control measures of financial institutions,so as to reduce the possibility of benchmark manipulation and strengthen the supervision and regulation of benchmark.