UK Fines Banks £105m for Bond Data Misconduct

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and Royal Bank of Canada a total of around £105 million for unlawfully exchanging sensitive information on UK government bonds and associated derivatives. This misconduct occurred between 2009 and 2013, primarily through one-to-one chatrooms on Bloomberg terminals. Deutsche Bank, also implicated, was exempt from fines due to its cooperation with the investigation. The banks have since implemented compliance measures to prevent future violations. The fines would have been higher if not for the banks' proactive steps to address the issue. The CMA emphasized the importance of independent pricing strategies to maintain market competitiveness.