The European Commission (EU) has accused Crédit Agricole, HSBC and JPMorgan of breaching antitrust rules by taking part in a cartel to alter Euribor, a euro benchmark borrowing rate.
The accusation comes following the EU’s investigation into any involvement of banks to manipulate the pricing of interest rate derivatives, which are their financial products to manage risks associated with interest rate volatility.
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The EU said in its statement that has concerns over the three banks role in a collusive scheme aimed at distorting the normal course of pricing components for euro interest rate derivatives.
"If established, such behaviour violates Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 53 of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement that prohibit anti-competitive business practices," the statement read.
The banks could be fined up to 10% of annual revenues, if found guilty.
Earlier in October 2011 the Commission had charged fines of over 1.04 billion on Barclays, Deutsche Bank, RBS and Societe Generale, after they plead guilty for their participation in a cartel relating to euro interest rate derivatives.
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By GlobalDataJPMorgan Chase has claimed that it had fully co-operated with the European Commission throughout the investigation and it believes that the Statement of Objections is without merit and intends to defend itself fully.
The investigations that began in March 2013 are still continuing with the authorities inquiring Euribor rate-rigging cartel under standard procedure.
