The former general manager of the New York branch of Daiwa Bank has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to defraud federal regulators. The plea was entered by Mr Masahiro Tsuda, who was charged in December with conspiracy to defraud the Federal Reserve in connection with the bank's failure to disclose trading losses of $1.1 billion (£698 million).

The plea was entered at Manhattan District Court before US district Judge Sidney Stein.

Daiwa admitted that it had learned in July 1995 that Mr Toshihide Iguchi, a former bond trader at the New York branch, had incurred huge losses, but waited until September to tell US regulators on the advice of Japan's Ministry of Finance.