Reuters reports that JPMorgan settled an antitrust lawsuit which accused 12 banks of rigging the FX markets' benchmark rates. No other bank has commented or settled as of yet, and the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Two other lawsuits remain.
This follows the fines imposed by certain regulators on several banks late last year on the same matter. Once regulators found wrongdoing, even if only poor oversight of traders, it becomes more difficult for the banks to defend themselves. The lawsuit depended on whether the banks' behavior was uncompetitive in nature. Regulator findings regarding collusive behavior among bank traders on chat room and other electronic media may have increased the pressure on banks for settlements.
It appears reasonable to expect some of the other banks to settle in the near future. Additionally, all of the US and international regulators have not yet weighed in, and criminal charges may be coming as well, although any such charges may be limited to individual bank traders rather than the banks themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment