May 20, 2015:
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that five global banks will pay over $5 billion in penalties for working together to manipulate international interest and foreign currency exchange rates. The banks, which all pleaded guilty, are Barclays PLC, Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, and UBS AG. No charges were filed against any individuals at any of the five banks.
According to The Wall Street Journal:
The possibility of five large banks pleading guilty to criminal charges in a single day—including the largest and third-largest U.S. banks by assets, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup—would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, when executives warned the fallout from such a move would be disastrous to their ability to conduct business. But other large overseas banks have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the past year, with minimal effects to their operations. The five banks said they expected little disruption to business.
All five banks secured necessary waivers from the Securities and Exchange Commission that allow companies convicted of criminal charges to continue operating certain businesses, including running mutual funds and issuing stocks, without deep regulatory review, people familiar with the matter said.
Source:
Viswanatha, Aruna. (May 20, 2015). "Banks to Pay $5.6 Billion in Probes". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
Mufson, Steven; Marte, Jonnelle. (May 20, 2015). "Five big banks agree to pay more than $5 billion to settle regulatory charges". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-05-30.