EU fines three banks over market rigging

European Union regulators have fined banks JPMorgan, HSBC and Credit Agricole a combined €484m for colluding to manipulate the price of financial products linked to interest rates.

EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the banks illegally exchanged sensitive information and colluded to take profit in the market on the specialised financial products.

The EU fined JPMorgan Chase €337m, France's Credit Agricole €114m and London-based HSBC €33m.

Three years ago, the antitrust regulators levied fines totalling €1.04bn on Barclays, Deutsche Bank, RBS and Societe Generale as part of the same case.

The case covers manipulation of financial contracts linked to a benchmark interest rate called Euribor in the period 2005-2008.