Citi avoids Libor charge but faces forex-rigging settlement
Giant investment bank Citi will not face prosecution over Libor manipulation from the US Department of Justice, yesterday announcing that the investigation is at an end.
However, Citi is expected to be one of at least four banks settling the allegations of foreign exchange manipulation with US regulators this week.
The bank has already paid more than $1bn (£641m) in Libor fines to regulators in the US, UK and Europe.
“The Department of Justice has advised Citigroup that, based on the facts and circumstances as the Department of Justice currently understands them, the Department of Justice has decided to decline prosecution with respect to Libor,” the US bank said in a regulatory filing.
But the filing also referred to the upcoming foreign exchange settlement.
“A resolution with the Department of Justice could include a guilty plea on an antitrust charge,” Citi warned.
It is not the only bank likely to be involved in the settlement, which could come as soon as this week.
RBS and Barclays in the UK, and JP Morgan in the US, are also expected to be part of the deal.
It follows last November’s settlements by seven banks with the Financial Conduct Authority in Britain, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the US and Finma in Switzerland.
Those settlements came in at $4.3bn.
Meanwhile, investigations into individuals are currently ongoing.
In the cases around allegations of Libor manipulation, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office has charged 13 people, while one former trader in the US has pleaded guilty. Citi’s shares edged up 0.2 per cent on the day.