EU: Commission takes action over bank rate-rigging scandal

The European Commission has reportedly found evidence that major banks JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and Credit Agricole colluded to manipulate the interbank lending benchmark known as Euribor.

Reports say the Commission has sent a statement of objections to the banks following their decision to exit settlement discussions surrounding the case last year. In a statement emailed by the regulator, the Commission said it “has concerns that the three banks may have taken part in a collusive scheme which aimed at distorting the normal course of pricing components for euro interest rate derivatives.”

The statement of objections follows the record-setting fines levied against other major banks investigated for their alleged roles in Euribor and yen Libor manipulation schemes. Six companies were fined a total of $2.3 billion.

JPMorgan and HSBC both said they would fight the allegations, each denying any wrongdoing. Credit Agricole said in a statement that it would review the objections but has not yet received them.

At a press conference, European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia declined to say whether any possible fines against the three accused lenders would be larger than any settlement that would have previously been reached with regulators.

In another statement, Almunia also said the Commission likely plans to charge broker ICAP with yen Libor manipulation and “will probably issue a statement of objections to the broker” in a matter of days.

Full content: Bloomberg and Reuters

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