ANKARA
U.S. and U.K. financial regulatory bodies have fined five banks a total of $3.18 billion on Wednesday for manipulating global foreign exchange benchmark rates.
Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Switzerland's UBS were penalized by both the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
“The setting of a benchmark rate is not simply another opportunity for banks to earn a profit. Countless individuals and companies around the world rely on these rates to settle financial contracts, and this reliance is premised on faith in the fundamental integrity of these benchmarks,” said Aitan Goelman, the director of the enforcement division at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined UBS $371 million, Citibank $359 million, JPMorgan Chase $352 million, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) $344 million, and HSBC $343 million.
Meanwhile The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) imposed its own monetary penalties saying “The Orders collectively impose over $1.4 billion in civil monetary penalties, specifically: $310 million each for Citibank and JPMorgan, $290 million each for RBS and UBS, and $275 million for HSBC.” in press release on its website.
Concerning Barclays, U.K.'s financial regulatory body said it would continue with its investigation.
The investigation first began in 2013 when traders working for several major banks were suspected of manipulating rates of more than 100 currencies.
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