Anti-competitive activity by Deutsche, Citi: UK probe

Deutsche Bank and Citigroup admitted anti-competitive activity by exchanging sensitive information on UK government bonds between 2009 and 2013, Britain's anti-trust watchdog said, as it provisionally found five banks in breach of competition rules.

HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Canada, meanwhile, have not admitted any wrongdoing over the alleged sharing of information in one or more one-to-one conversations between a small number of traders in Bloomberg chatrooms in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday it would consider further representations from the banks before reaching a final decision on its next steps and the possible issue of financial penalties.


The CMA said the conversations are alleged to have related to the buying and selling of UK government bonds - specifically, gilts and gilt asset swaps - and included details on pricing and other aspects of trading strategies.

"These alleged activities are ... very serious and warrant the detailed investigation we have undertaken. This could have denied taxpayers, pension savers and financial institutions the benefits of full competition for these products, including the minimisation of borrowing costs," said Michael Grenfell, Executive Director of Enforcement at the CMA. Reuters