"Weakness in control procedures at NAB" says PWC

National Australia Bank, parent company of National Irish Bank, and Australia's biggest bank has said that the final loss arising from the foreign currency options trading fraud remains at A$360m (€213m), and that it has put into action a plan to ensure a non-reoccurrence of the scandal.

In a statement following the release of a review into the matter by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the bank said the four traders involved in the scandal exploited weaknesses in systems and processes to hide trading losses and protect bonuses.

The PwC report findings say that there was inadequate management supervision in the foreign exchange division, weaknesses in control procedures and failure of risk management systems. It also found warning signals, both inside the bank and from regulators and other market participants, were not properly acted upon.

"Weaknesses in control procedures identified by PwC have been or will be rectified without delay," the bank's new chairman Graham Kraehe said.

The bank's new chief executive John Stewart said the four traders involved in the scandal have been fired, while their direct supervisor will also be dismissed.

Another four senior executives were leaving after their employment was "reviewed", Kraehe said.

The scandal had already led to the resignation of chief executive Frank Cicutto and chairman Charles Allen earlier this year.