UK Regulator Provisionally Finds 5 Banks Broke Competition Law on Government Bonds
By Elena Vardon
The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday said it has provisionally found that five banks broke competition law by exchanging sensitive information on U.K. government bonds in one-to-one online chats.
The regulator said the conversations in Bloomberg terminal chats and alleged unlawful behavior by banks Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Canada took place between 2009 and 2013.
It said a small number of traders who worked at the banks exchanged information, including pricing and aspects of their trading strategies, on the buying and selling of U.K. government gilts and gilt asset swaps.
"This could have denied taxpayers, pension savers and financial institutions the benefits of full competition for these products, including the minimization of borrowing costs," Executive Director of Enforcement Michael Grenfell said.
The CMA said Deutsche Bank had admitted its participation under the regulator's leniency policy and will not be fined. It added that Citi also admitted its involvement in anti-competitive activity and that applied for leniency during the CMA's investigation, so any fine it receives will be discounted.
"HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Canada have not admitted any wrongdoing. At this stage, no assumption should be made that any of the banks have broken the law," the CMA said.
Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 24, 2023 02:58 ET (06:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.-
Going Into Earnings, Is Eli Lilly Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
What’s the Difference Between the CPI and PCE Indexes?
-
5 Stocks to Buy That We Still Like After They’ve Run Up
-
Markets Brief: Stocks Are Starting to Look Cheap Again
-
Will Earnings From These 10 AI Stocks Live Up to the Hype?
-
What’s Happening In the Markets This Week
-
What the Next Bitcoin Halving Means for ETF Investors
-
Going Into Earnings, Is Microsoft a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
March PCE Inflation Index Forecasts Show Mixed Readings On Price Pressures
-
After Earnings, Is Charles Schwab Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
Going Into Earnings, Is Apple Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued?
-
AT&T Earnings: Network Outage Didn’t Stop Solid Growth or Cash Flow
-
This Dividend Stock With a Nearly 7% Yield Is a Buy After Selloff
-
Visa Earnings: Growth Holds Steady
-
GM Earnings: Strong Start to 2024 Is Good Sign for Rest of the Year
-
Tesla Stock Undervalued as Outlook Improves