EU charges HSBC, JP Morgan and Credit Agricole with Euribor rigging

20th May 2014 14:30

HSBC, JP Morgan and Credit Agricole on Tuesday were charged by the European Union (EU) antitrust regulators with rigging financial benchmarks linked to the euro.The European Commission said it has concerns that the three banks may have taken part in a collusive scheme which aimed to distort the normal course of pricing components for euro interest rate derivatives.The EU and US have so far issued $6bn worth of fines to 10 banks and brokerages for rigging Libor and the euro equivalent Euribor.ICAP is also facing charges for suspected manipulation of the yen Libor financial market. The three banks and ICAP could face penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.JPMorgan and HSBC said they would defend themselves against the charges. Credit Agricole said it would examine the charge sheet. ICAP could not immediately be reached for comment.RD