Barclays has been fined $2.38bn after pleading guilty to conspiring to manipulate the forex trading market. This is part of a record $5.7bn in fines handed out by US and UK regulators to Barclays, RBS, Citigroup, JP Morgan and UBS in a final major settlement with the investment banks over their roles in the foreign exchange market rigging scandal.
The fine imposed on Barclays was raised by five regulators including the DOJ and the FCA. The £284m fine levied by the FCA is the largest penalty the organisation has imposed to date, following the £234m fine against UBS in November of last year as part of the first settlement concerning the manipulation of the forex market. Barclays’ failure to participate in the November agreement, which saw five of the largest investment banks fined a total of $1.7bn, resulted in Barclays receiving a considerably larger penalty than its competitors in the latest settlement.
In 2011 Barclays had the largest share of the forex trading market and last year was still one of the three largest institutions in the forex market. Under the settlement agreement none of the investment banks will face a criminal trial, although individual traders are currently under criminal investigation.
