CMA fines major banks £104m for sharing sensitive bond data

HSBC, Citi Bank, Morgan Stanley and the Royal Bank of Canada will pay more than £104m in fines after sharing sensitive bond information.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has agreed to settle the separate cases, related to UK government bonds, known as gilts. The type of bond helps to finance public spending, where investors lend money through the gilt and in return receive a steady and stable stream of cash interest payments.

Individual traders at the four banks as well as Deutsche Bank, took part in private one-to-one Bloomberg chatrooms, in which they shared sensitive information relating to buying and selling gilts on specific dates.

The fines for each bank are:

• Citi: £17,160,000 – includes a 35% leniency discount and a 20% reduction for settling in advance of the CMA issuing its statement of objections
• HSBC: £23,400,000 – this includes a 10% reduction for settling after the CMA issued its Statement of Objections
• Morgan Stanley: £29,700,000 – this includes a 10% reduction for settling after the CMA issued its Statement of Objections
• Royal Bank of Canada: £34,200,000 – this includes a 10% reduction for settling after the CMA issued its Statement of Objections
• Deutsche Bank has immunity for reporting its conduct which began in 2009 and ended in 2013

Exchanges took place between 2009-2013, with the last exchanges occurring in 2010 for HSBC, 2012 for Morgan Stanley, and 2013 for each of Citi, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Canada.

Information exchanged included the sale of gilts by the UK Debt Management Office through auctions on behalf of HM Treasury, the trading of gilts and gilt asset swaps and the selling of gilts to the Bank of England.

The CMA said the banks have since implemented extensive compliance measures to ensure this behaviour does not happen again.

Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement at the CMA said: “Following constructive engagement between the banks and the CMA, we are pleased that we have been able to settle these 5 cases involving the past sharing of competitively sensitive information about pricing.

“The financial services sector is an integral part of the UK economy, contributing billions every year, and it’s essential that it functions effectively. Only through healthy and competitive markets can we ensure businesses and investors have confidence to invest and grow – for the benefit of all in the UK.

“The fines imposed today reflect the CMA’s commitment to dealing with competition law breaches and deterring anti-competitive conduct. The fines would have been substantially higher had the banks not already taken unusually extensive steps to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

The firms have until 22 April 2025 to pay their fines.