Brazil: Fifteen banks investigated on alleged currency rigging

Fifteen of the world’s largest banks are under investigation on suspicion of rigging the Brazilian currency, antitrust watchdog Cade said on Thursday, the first such probe in one of the busiest foreign exchange markets globally.

In a document, Cade alleged that the banks colluded to influence benchmark currency rates in Brazil by aligning positions and pushing transactions in a way that deterred competitors from the market between 2007 and 2013, at least. Foreign exchange trading in Brazil is estimated at about $3 trillion a year, excluding swaps and derivative transactions.

The banks named in the Cade probe are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc , JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley & Co , Nomura Holdings Inc, Royal Bank of Canada , Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Standard Bank Group Ltd, Standard Chartered Plc and UBS AG.

The Brazilian investigation comes weeks after six of the world’s largest financial institutions agreed to pay $5.8 billion to the U.S. government to settle charges of currency rigging.

Full content: The Wall Street Journal

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.