Swiss start cartel probe into banks

The Swiss Competition Commission has launched an investigation into possible cartel behaviour by a dozen banks including UBS and Credit Suisse.

The commission said in a statement today that the banks are suspected of colluding to influence key interest rates and the trading conditions for derivatives.

It says the probe covers Switzerland’s two biggest banks.

Competition authorities in the United States and Britain have also begun investigations into whether banks misstated the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, that underlies many commercial interest rates.