The five banks that agreed to plead guilty to charges tied toforeign-exchange rigging received the permission they needed fromthe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to keep theirbusinesses running unimpeded, a person familiar with the mattersaid.

The waivers were approved in a vote by the five-membercommission in a closed meeting late Tuesday, said the person, whoasked not to be named because the matter isn't public. Bankspleading guilty need waivers from the SEC to continue managingmutual funds and raising capital quickly.

Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc and RoyalBank of Scotland Plc agreed to plead guilty to felony charges ofconspiring to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros insettlements with the Justice Department announced in WashingtonWednesday. The main banking unit of UBS Group AG agreed to pleadguilty to a wire-fraud charge related to interest-ratemanipulation.

Waivers have become a contentious issue at the SEC, dividingDemocratic and Republican commissioners over how stiff punishmentsfor Wall Street misconduct should be. Even as the JusticeDepartment negotiated guilty pleas with the five banks, a lawmakerquestioned whether the waivers should be granted. Banks' efforts tosecure them pushed the settlement back by a week, people familiarwith the matter have said.

The banks will face a separate hurdle at the Department ofLabor, which oversees about $8 trillion in private-sector pensions.Banks with a felony rap need the department's permission to keepmanaging Americans' retirement money. Each of the five institutionsthat admitted guilt on Wednesday said in the plea agreements thatthey intend to apply to the Labor Department for waivers prior toits sentencing.

Recently, the Labor Department waiver process has provenconsiderably more arduous than the SEC's. After Credit Suisse AGand BNP Paribas applied to Labor last year for exemptions, each hadto appeal to federal judges to delay sentencing dates, to avoidlosing their status as Qualified Professional Asset Managers. WhileBNP has secured the permission it needs from the Labor Department,Credit Suisse is operating under a temporary waiver as officialscontinue to review its application.

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