The European Commission has ended a five-year investigation into Euribor rigging by handing JP Morgan, HSBC and Credit Agricole combined fines totalling €485 million.
The Commission found the three banks had manipulated euro interest rate derivative pricing and exchanged sensitive information.
All three decided not to settle the case with Commission, unlike Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale who reached settlements in December 2013.
The Commission explained all seven banks involved had worked together between September 2005 and May 2008 to manipulate pricing components for euro interest rate derivatives.
“They did this by telling each other their desired or intended Euribor submissions and by exchanging sensitive information on their trading positions or on their trading or pricing strategies,” the Commission said.
JP Morgan was fined €337 million, HSBC €33 million and Credit Agricole €114 million as the Commission took into account each bank’s value of sales for the products concerned.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who heads up competition policy for the EU watchdog, commented: “Banks have to respect EU competition rules just like any other company operating in the Single Market.”