Manipulation suspicions
October 19, 2011
The European Commission said Wednesday it has launched an antitrust probe into several European banks following allegations of interest rate manipulation.
Antitrust officials conducted unannounced inspections at several banks as part of the investigation that began Tuesday. The EC is looking into allegations that the banks may have colluded to manipulate euro interest rate derivatives.
"The Commission has concerns that the companies ... may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices," the EU executive said in a statement.
The banks involved are part of a group of 44 banks that set the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) based on the interest rates they charge for lending to other financial institutions. The Commission did not name the companies that had been raided.
The Euribor sets the value of derivatives that are worth trillions of euros.
Author: Holly Fox (AFP, AP, dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler