Big Banks to Pay Billions in
Settlements
Five
of the world's largest banks—JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Barclays, Royal Bank of
Scotland, and UBS Group AG—will pay (WSJ) a combined $5.6
billion in penalties after pleading guilty to criminal charges to settle an
investigation by U.S. authorities into the role of traders in manipulating
foreign exchange and interest rates.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released
the following statement today on the guilty plea made by five banks for
manipulating foreign currency and interest rates:“Earlier today, five global banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup, agreed to plead guilty to manipulating foreign currency and interest rates and will rightfully pay billions in criminal penalties. Even with the disastrous impacts of the 2008 financial crisis still fresh in the minds of the American people, it appears that financial institutions that are ‘too-big-to-fail’ have not learned their lesson. While the criminal behavior at issue in this settlement is different from what occurred leading up to the 2008 collapse, this case represents yet another shameful demonstration of banks engaging in corrupt practices that have far-reaching global impacts, hurting both the average consumer and investors. While I am gratified the Justice Department has seen this very complicated case through, I am concerned about the side-agreement that was negotiated that effectively holds these banks harmless from the severest sanctions available to the Security and Exchange Commission, and that top executives still received large bonuses under these circumstances. Until individual officers, directors or key employees are held responsible, this culture of corruption that still very much exists among the nation’s largest financial institutions will continue to churn out financial scandals putting the American taxpayer at risk.”
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