Citigroup and JP Morgan look set to pay a combined total of $182.5 million to settle a case brought against them, as well as a number of other banks, by a group of investment companies. The two banking giants are accused of having violated antitrust laws.
Along with a handful of other banks, Citigroup and JP Morgan allegedly manipulated the (Euribor) – an interest rate benchmark used by firms as a reference point for euro-denominated financial instruments.
A number of buy-side firms, including pension fund the , brought litigation against the banks involved, saying they rigged the Euribor rate and fixed the prices of Euribor-based derivatives from June 2005 until March of 2011.
Third fine in a year for JP Morgan
Reuters reported on Friday that JP Morgan and Citigroup deny any wrongdoing in the settlement. Instead, they will pay the settlement fees to avoid a lengthy legal process and expensive litigation – and public relations – costs.
This is the second fine that JP Morgan has paid in under a week. The American investment bank was fined $7 million by authorities earlier this week for working with rival banks to rig the Australian Bank Bill Swap Reference Rate.
In June of this year, the firm was also for manipulating the US Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix.
Thus far, US courts have managed to squeeze close to half a billion dollars out of banks involved in the Euribor manipulation scandal. Deutsche Bank paid $170 million in June of last year and Barclays coughed up $94 million in late 2015.
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