© Inconnu
A handful of banks will likely resolve forex-rigging investigations by the U.S. Justice Department as soon as this week: JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Citigroup (C.N), British banks Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and Barclays (BARC.L) and Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.VX).
It would be unprecedented for parent companies or main banking units, rather than smaller subsidiaries, of so many major banks, to plead guilty to criminal charges in a coordinated action, the people said.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department, declined comment. Spokespeople for Citi, JPMorgan, RBS, UBS, and Barclays all declined to comment.
If parent companies of U.S.-based JPMorgan and Citigroup plead guilty, it would be the first time in decades that a major American financial institution has done so. Last year, when Swiss bank Credit Suisse AG (CSGN.VX) pleaded guilty in the United States to helping wealthy Americans evade taxes, it became largest institution in over 20 years to plead to criminal wrongdoing. It was soon followed by French banking giant BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA).
Comment: As we've seen time and again, reprimanding a major bank with fines and not jail time does nothing to stop them from rigging markets or gambling with derivatives. In fact quite the opposite has happened: it's sent the message that these banks can pretty much do whatever they want without fear of any real recourse. But why go after the main banking institutions now knowing what it will do to the economy? Is the government trying to quell some of the anger against Wall Street by making it seem like the major banks are being 'held accountable', while also slowly eroding the US economy?