FX Probe Lags in EU as Other Watchdogs Ready for Fines
The European Union’s antitrust arm is still at the start of its probe into possible collusion in foreign-exchange markets even as U.S. and U.K. regulators edge closer to levying fines.
“We are at the starting point of this investigation,” EU Competition Joaquin Almunia told Bloomberg TV in an interview in Cernobbio, Italy on Sept. 6. “It’s a very important case because the Forex markets every day exchange billions and billions of euros — but I cannot anticipate anything.”
The EU’s antitrust arm has “received some contributions from people that warned us of the possibility of collusion,” said Almunia, nearly a year after he revealed the EU had begun examining currency markets.
U.S. and U.K. probes have progressed much quicker, with fines for settling banks planned as soon as November, two people familiar with the matter said last month.
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority is in settlement talks with firms including Barclays Plc (BARC), Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and UBS AG (UBSN) and meetings to discuss penalties are scheduled as soon as this month, the people said.
Unlike financial regulators who focus on market abuse, including rogue trading, EU antitrust enforcers must show that companies colluded. For procedural reasons, the Brussels-based European Commission often lags behind other regulators in levying fines.
Source: bloomberg
