Barclays share price: Lender to pay $2.4bn in forex fines

Barclays Plc (LON:BARC) will pay $2.4 billion (£1.54 billion) in fines for conspiring to manipulate the forex trading market, US regulators have said. The penalties include a record £284 million fine by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Barclays’ share price has jumped in afternoon trade, following news of the settlement with UK and US authorities, and stood 2.79 percent higher at 270.02p as of 15:17 BST.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced in a statement this afternoon that Barclays will pay $2.4 billion in fines for having manipulated foreign exchange rates, and will fire eight employees as a result of the settlement.
“Put simply, Barclays employees helped rig the foreign exchange market,” Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services, said in the statement. “They engaged in a brazen ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ scheme to rip off their clients.”
The London-listed lender will pay $710 million to the US Department of Justice, $485 million to the NYDFS, $400 million to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and $342 million to the US Federal Reserve. The $2.4 billion fine also includes a £284 million penalty to the UK’s FCA. The City watchdog confirmed the fine in a separate statement, pointing out that it marked “the largest financial penalty ever imposed by the FCA, or its predecessor the Financial Services Authority”.
The FCA’s record bill is part of a total of over £4 billion in penalties imposed upon Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, JPMorgan and Citigroup, the vast majority of which will be paid to US regulators. Barclays was the only one of the five not to settle with the FCA in November, missing out on the 30 percent early settlement discount that the other banks received.
Barclays said in a statement that the fines under today’s settlement are covered by the bank’s existing provisions of £2.05 billion, including those booked by the lender in its first-quarter results.
“The misconduct at the core of these investigations is wholly incompatible with Barclays’ purpose and values and we deeply regret that it occurred,” Barclays’ chief executive Antony Jenkins said in the statement. “I share the frustration of shareholders and colleagues that some individuals have once more brought our company and industry into disrepute. “
As of 15:43 BST, Wednesday, 20 May, Barclays share price is 269.05p.
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