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Highlights
- London's Competition Appeal Tribunal has blocked a case related to forex rigging by major banks, which include NatWest and Barclays.
- In 2019, a fine of around €1 billion was levied on the banks over two forex cartels by the European Commission.
Since July last year, London's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has been considering a case against major banks for allegedly manipulating foreign exchange (forex). However, on 31 March 2022, the London court ruled that the case could not proceed further and has thus blocked it.
The multi-billion-pound claim was put forward by thousands of financial institutions, asset managers, and pension funds. The banks against which the lawsuit was filed include Barclays, JPMorgan, NatWest, Citigroup, and UBS. In 2019, a fine of around €1 billion was levied on the banks over two forex cartels by the European Commission.
Reportedly, the former chair of the Pensions Regulator, Michael O'Higgins was in support of the financial claimants and was very dissatisfied with the court’s decision to block the case as the illegal actions of cartels won’t be penalised now and the entities which suffered due to their actions won’t get justice. No comments were made by any of the major banks against which the proceedings were taking place except JPMorgan, which welcomed the court’s decision.
Let’s look at the share price performance of the 2 leading UK banks who were involved in the case.
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NatWest Group plc (LON: NWG)
NatWest Group plc is the UK’s leading retail and commercial bank. Recently on 28 March, the bank announced that it had finally regained majority private ownership after a wait of 14 years when it was hit hard during the global financial crisis and had to take government support.
With a market cap of £22,975.25 million, the shares of the FTSE100 constituent bank were up by 1.39% at GBX 218.90 on 1 April 2022, 11:40 AM (GMT+1). The bank has provided its shareholders with a return of 11.49% over the past one year as of 1 April 2022.
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Barclays plc (LON: BARC)
Barclays plc is a major UK-based bank that offers its financial services across the globe. On 31 March, the bank declared that it is raising the wages of its lowest-paid workers by a minimum of 21%.
With a market cap of £24,852.91 million, the shares of the FTSE100 constituent bank were up by 1.46% at GBX 150.46 on 1 April 2022, at 11:48 AM (GMT+1). The share price performance of the bank has deteriorated over the past year, with a negative return of 19.10% as of 1 April 2022.
Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on market trends and is of limited scope without any in-depth fundamental valuation or technical analysis. Any interest in stocks or sectors should be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the associated risks.
