Compliance
Three Big Banks Fined Over $520 Million By European Commission

Three of the world's key banking players have been slapped with a hefty fine for rigging industry borrowing rates.
Crédit
Agricole, HSBC and
JP Morgan have
been collectively fined €485 million ($520.4 million) by the
European Commission for colluding to manipulate a key industry
borrowing rate.
The three big banks breached EU antitrust rules by fixing
Euribor, the Euro Interbank Offered Rate at which banks lend
money to each other, and exchanged “sensitive information” as
they bidded to make highly profitable trades, a five-year
investigation conducted by the European Commission revealed.
The investigation unveiled a so-called cartel that was active
between September 2005 and May 2008, involving a total of seven
banks: Barclays, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank,
RBS and Société Générale. Each bank participated in the dodgy
dealings for varying periods of time. The participants were in
regular contact through corporate online chat rooms with the aim
of distorting the normal course of pricing components for euro
interest rate derivatives, such as forward rate agreements,
interest rate swaps and interest rate options.
However, the latest slap to the industry only concerns Crédit
Agricole, HSBC and JP Morgan and does not involve the other banks
mentioned above, as they reached a settlement with the European
Commission in 2013 over their involvement in the
process.
Crédit Agricole was found to have been involved for a duration of
five months and was consequently fined €114.7 million. HSBC's
participation lasted one month, which perhaps reflects its lower
penalty of €33.6 million. JP Morgan was involved for a five-month
period and was hit with the heaviest fine, totalling €337.2
million.
“A sound and competitive financial sector is essential for
investment and growth,” said commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who
is in charge of competition policy. “Banks have to respect EU
competition rules just like any other company operating in the
Single Market."