Major banks including HSBC and Morgan Stanley fined for 'anti-competitive behaviour'

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed fines exceeding £100m on four of the world's largest banks after uncovering that traders shared market-sensitive information about gilts in private chatrooms.

The individual traders from HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Deutsche Bank, and Royal Bank of Canada were found to have exchanged confidential information regarding the pricing of UK government bonds through Bloomberg chatrooms between 2009 and 2013, as reported by City AM.

In an announcement this morning, the CMA confirmed the banks' agreement to pay these fines for their anti-competitive conduct.

Citi is set to pay a fine of £17.2m, which includes a 35 per cent leniency discount and a further 20 per cent reduction for settling prior to the CMA publishing its preliminary findings from the probe.

HSBC will pay £23.4m, Morgan Stanley £29.7m, and Royal Bank of Canada £34.2m; all these amounts reflect a 10 per cent discount for early settlement.

Deutsche Bank, however, has been exempted from any financial penalty due to the CMA's leniency policy, which offers immunity or reduced penalties to businesses that report their involvement in cartel activities to the regulator.

"It is important that competitors decide their price and strategies independently in order to ensure effective competition in a market," stated the CMA.

It also confirmed that the implicated banks have implemented "extensive compliance measures" to prevent a recurrence of such behaviour.

The institutions have been given until 22 April to settle their respective fines.

"Only through healthy and competitive markets can we ensure businesses and investors have confidence to invest and grow – for the benefit of all in the UK," stated Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement at the CMA.