Financial authorities in Hong Kong have said on Thursday that they are investigating Swiss bank UBS over possible wrongdoing related to the Asian financial centre's benchmark interest rate.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced its own investigation just a day after UBS agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle claims of rigging Libor and other interest rates. The regulators have said that the bank was involved in extensive and widespread attempts to manipulate Libor, the benchmark interest rates for five years. It is the latest development in the long standing rigging scandal that has tainted several global banks and exposes corrupt payments made by financial institutions.

The HKMA said that it had launched a probe to determine if there was any wrongdoing by UBS when it submitted information that was used to set the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate. The investigators will also determine if the bank had any material impact on setting the rate called Hibor. The authority in Hong Kong said that it was informed by other regulatory authorities about a possible misconduct involving the Hibor rate and some others in the region.

UBS said in a statement that it will "work closely with various regulatory authorities to resolve issues relating to the setting of certain global benchmark interest rates."