The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed a hefty £104.5 million fine on four global banking giants—Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)—for “illegally” sharing sensitive details regarding UK government bonds, known as gilts, between 2009 and 2013.
Unveiled on Feb 20, 2025, this settlement marks the conclusion of a long-running investigation into anti-competitive behavior that undermined the integrity of the UK’s bond market in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
The CMA’s probe, launched in 2018, uncovered that traders at these banks engaged in one-to-one exchanges of competitively sensitive pricing details via private Bloomberg chatrooms.
These exchanges are said to have involved gilts and gilt asset swaps, focusing on auctions by the UK Debt Management Office, subsequent trading, and sales to the Bank of England during its quantitative easing efforts.
The alleged misconduct, spanning different dates between 2009 and 2013, distorted competition in a market critical to public finance and pension funds. RBC faced the largest penalty at £34.2 million, followed by Morgan Stanley at £29.7 million, HSBC at £23.4 million, and Citi at £17.2 million.
A fifth bank, Deutsche Bank, was reportedly able to avoid fines by proactively reporting its involvement under the CMA’s leniency policy, while Citi secured a 35% discount for cooperating early.
The fines reflect the severity of the breaches, however, the CMA noted they would have been higher without the banks’ post-incident compliance overhaul.
Juliette Enser, CMA’s Executive Director of Competition Enforcement, emphasized the importance of this action:
“The financial services sector is integral to the UK economy, and only through healthy competition can we ensure confidence for businesses and investors.”
The traders involved—none of whom remain with the banks—are said to have operated in a period of economic recovery, making their actions particularly detrimental to taxpayers as well as the overall market.
This case, settled after provisional findings in May 2023, highlights the CMA’s commitment to monitoring financial markets.
The banks now have until April 2025 to pay, thus signaling a deterrent against future collusion.
As of February 23, 2025, this £104.5 million penalty reportedly exceeds the CMA’s total fines for 2024, reinforcing its commitment to safeguard the UK’s reputation as a financial hub.