THE Bank of England has suspended a staff member amid an investigation of what officials knew about alleged manipulation of key currency rates by foreign exchange traders.

The BoE said in a statement that an internal review so far had found no evidence that BoE staff colluded in any such manipulation or shared confidential client information.

"However, the Bank requires its staff to follow internal control processes and has today suspended a member of staff, pending investigation by the Bank into compliance with those processes," it said.

The Bank's oversight body will lead an investigation into whether BoE officials were involved in manipulation of benchmark foreign exchange fixings.