On December 4, the European Commission announced that it had fined eight international banks a total of more than 1.7 billion for their participation in illegal cartels in markets for financial derivatives covering the European Economic Area.

Using the cartel settlement procedure, the Commission reached two separate decisions; one decision involved seven separate bilateral infringements relating to interest rate derivatives denominated in Japanese yen.  The companies involved were UBS, RBS, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Citigroup and RP Martin.

The other decision was made in relation to a collusion by four banks in relation to interest rate derivatives denominated in euro.  The banks were Barclays, Deutsche Bank, RBS and Société Générale.  Utilizing the Commission’s 2006 Leniency Notice, Barclays and UBS received complete immunity from fines.  Announcement.