6 banks fined almost US$6b in forex probe settlement

New York

FOUR major banks pleaded guilty on Wednesday to trying to manipulate foreign exchange rates and six banks were fined a total of nearly US$6 billion in a settlement that substantially ends a global probe into misconduct in the US$5-trillion-a-day market.

In total, authorities in the United States and Europe have fined banks over US$10 billion for failing to stop their forex traders from sharing confidential information about client orders and coordinating trades to boost their own profits.