Forex probe results in $6bn fines

Four major banks have pleaded guilty to trying to manipulate foreign exchange rates and six banks were fined nearly $6 billion (€5.4bn) in a settlement that substantially ends a global probe into misconduct in the $5-trillion-a-day market.

Authorities in the US and Europe fined seven banks over $10bn for failing to stop forex traders from sharing confidential information about client orders and co-ordinating trades to boost their own profits.

Traders at Citigroup, JP Morgan, Barclays, and Royal Bank of Scotland, who described themselves as “The Cartel”, used an invitation-only electronic chatroom and coded language to manipulate the price of US dollars and euro between December 2007 and January 2013, according to US authorities. The four banks pleaded guilty to conspiring to manipulate the foreign exchange market.