Overview

• The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) a total of £104.5 million for sharing sensitive information about UK government bonds in Bloomberg chatrooms.
• Deutsche Bank, also implicated, avoided fines by proactively reporting the misconduct and cooperating with the investigation.
• The illegal information sharing, which occurred between 2009 and 2013, involved traders discussing UK government bonds (gilts) and related trading strategies, potentially harming taxpayers and distorting competition.
• The CMA acknowledged that the banks have since implemented significant compliance measures to prevent similar violations, with none of the traders involved still employed at the institutions.
• RBC received the highest penalty of £34.2 million, followed by Morgan Stanley (£29.7 million), HSBC (£23.4 million), and Citi (£17.2 million), with fines reduced due to settlements and cooperation.