Today, CNBC, Reuters, and the E.U. itself itself are reporting that the European Commission has fined Barclays, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, MUFG, and Royal Bank of Scotland a total of 1.07 billion Euro ($1.2 billion) for rigging the spot foreign exchange market for 11 currencies. The bid-rigging was carried out by traders from the various banks communicating with each other over Bloomberg terminals. The fines covered two separate schemes, one taking place between 2007 and 2013, and the other between 2009 and 2012. UBS received immunity because it had reported the bid-rigging schemes to the Commission, thereby avoiding a fine of 285 million Euro.
In a related investigation, U.S. regulators have fined Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS more than $2.8 for the same conduct.