Libor scandal no threat to Deutsche Bank co-chief Jain: sources

Jain, Co-Chairman of the Management board and the Group Executive Committee of Germany's largest business bank, Deutsche Bank AG listens during a visit at the Thomson Reuters office in Frankfurt

Anshu Jain, Co-Chairman of the Management board and the Group Executive Committee of Germany's largest business bank, Deutsche Bank AG listens during a visit at the Thomson Reuters office in Frankfurt February 21, 2013. Picture taken February 21, 2013. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

updated 2/24/2013 9:34:16 AM ET

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank co-chief executive Anshu Jain will likely not be sacked as a result of the investigations into the bank for manipulating Libor interbank rates, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The current findings of financial services watchdog BaFin would not lead to Jain's dismissal, said the three people, who declined to be identified, confirming a story in German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

"One needs to find more to justify using this heavy weapon," said one of the people.

The traders investigated for rigging Libor (the London interbank offered rate) worked several levels below Jain so he could not be made responsible for any wrongdoing by them, Welt am Sonntag reported.

The BaFin probe will likely not lead to an investigation from state prosecutors either, the sources told Reuters.

BaFin and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

BaFin only began an in-depth Libor probe into Deutsche Bank last year - around four years after the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) initiated an industry-wide investigation.

Deutsche Bank, which has set aside nearly 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) to cover legal liabilities including possible Libor-related costs, suspended two traders last year for Libor-related misconduct.

(Reporting by Alexander Hübner, Philipp Halstrick and Peter Dinkloh; Editing by Mark Potter)