Big world banks to pay $ 4.95bn for cheating customers; Is it a punishment or a gentle caress?

Last week five of the world largest banks, JPMorgan, Barclays, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland and Union de Banques Suisses were fined by the American magistrates a total of $ 4.7 billion for rigging interest rate benchmarks. The banks had been setting those standards by themselves for five years after 2007. In another case the […]

Commission offers discount on fines to banks for competition infringements

Today, the European Commission fined 8 major banks a total of € 1.7 billion for participating in cartels rigging interest rate benchmarks in markets for financial derivatives covering the European Economic Area (EEA). According to the Commission, four of these firms participated in a cartel relating to interest rate derivatives denominated in euro, and six […]

The EU lets the bankers go on rigging the benchmarks

The European Commission adopted yesterday additional “measures to restore confidence in benchmarks following Libor and Euribor scandals”. The new draft legislation complements the political agreement on Market Abuse Regulation proposed by the Commission last July and endorsed by the Parliament and the Council. Benchmark setting is not confined only to interest rates like Libor and […]

Commission’s feeble response to financial benchmarks fraud

On Wednesday 18 September the European Commission is expected to propose a draft legislation on financial benchmarks to protect their setting from fraud and collusion. The stakes are so big that surpass the wildest imagination. For example Libor, the London market interest rate benchmark, is used as a base for interest rates settlements all over […]