JPMorgan Chase & Co., HSBC Holdings Plc and Credit AgricoleSA were fined a total of 485.5 million euros ($521 million)for rigging the Euribor benchmark as European Union antitrustregulators wrapped up a five-year investigation into thescandal.

The trio colluded to rig the Euribor rate and exchangedsensitive information to suit their trading positions in correlatedderivatives markets, in breach of EU antitrust rules, the EuropeanCommission said on Wednesday in an emailed statement. JPMorgan wasfined 337.2 million euros, HSBC got a 33.6 million-euro penalty andCredit Agricole must pay 114.7 million euros.

“The participation in such schemes was very lucrative for thebanks,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU's antitrustcommissioner, told journalists in Brussels, adding that it'svery difficult to make an exact estimate of their profits. “Tinymovements of the Euribor rate can have a huge impact given thetrading volumes at stake.”

The EU's investigation into Euribor manipulation was strainedthree years ago after Credit Agricole, JPMorgan and HSBC refused tojoin a multi-bank settlement with four other lenders includingDeutsche Bank and Societe Generale. Since then, the holdouts havebeen a thorn in the commission's side — successfully delaying theprocess and showing up the regulator for its handling ofthe case.

JPMorgan “did not engage in any wrongdoing with respect to theEuribor benchmark,” Jennifer Zuccarelli, a spokeswoman for thebank in London, said in a statement. “We will continue tovigorously defend our position against these allegations, includingthrough possible appeals to the European courts.”

Credit Agricole in a statement said it “firmly believes that itdid not infringe competition law” and that “it will appeal thecommission's decision.” The fine payment “will not affect the 2016financial statements given the provisions set aside previously,”the French bank said.

HSBC said it “did not participate in an anti-competitivecartel,” and is also considering its legal options, according to astatement.

The four banks that settled the Euribor case were accused of sharing, via phone and throughonline chats, sensitive trading information among themselves andstrategizing to push benchmark rates up or down to suit theirtrading positions.

Vestager said traders at all seven banks involved regularly used“vulgar language” in their interactions, which required “a kind ofdictionary” to make sure the evidence wasn't lost intranslation.

“I think I would be seriously blushing if I were to repeat anyof the wording in some of those chat rooms,” she said.

The trio of holdouts were handed a statement of objections inMay 2014 accusing them of colluding to rig Euribor rates in the wake of aglobal scandal embroiling some of the world's biggest banks. Byrefusing to settle the case with the commission they forfeited thechance of a 10% discount on any fines.

$9 Billion

About $9 billion in fines have been levied against a dozen banksby global authorities over the manipulation of the London interbankoffered rate and similar benchmarks in the last four years and morethan 20 traders charged.

Libor and Euribor, the euro interbank offered rate, gauge banks'estimated cost of borrowing over different periods of time. Therates are a benchmark used to calculate interest payments fortrillions of euros worth of financial products includingmortgages.

Last year, Tom Hayes, a former UBS Group AG and Citigroup Inc.employee, became the first trader to be jailed over the Liborscandal, and is serving an 11-year sentence in the U.K. for hispart in rigging yen Libor. Several Euribor traders from DeutscheBank and Barclays are due to stand trial in London next year. Onetrader from Societe Generale has also been charged.

Vestager left open the possibility of further fines forfinancial firms caught up in global scandals — but refused to bedrawn on when the EU would wrap up a probe into the manipulation ofcurrency markets.

This is “a very large, very complex case, with a lot ofparticipants and that makes it very difficult” to give atimeline.

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