Jason Katz, a former Barclays Plc currency trader, admittedconspiring to fix prices in the foreign-exchange market, making himthe third individual to be charged and the first to plead guilty ina long-running U.S. criminal investigation into the rigging ofcurrency rates.

Katz appeared in Manhattan federal court Wednesday, where headmitted to participating in a conspiracy with other bankers tomanipulate emerging-market currency trades while working at threedifferent financial institutions from 2007 to 2013. Separately, theFederal Reserve Board said it banned Katz from the bankingindustry.

Katz's conviction comes one day before five banks are scheduledto be sentenced in connection with the Justice Department'sthree-year investigation. The banks — Citigroup Inc., JPMorganChase & Co., Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc —pleaded guilty in May 2015 to charges that their traders conspiredto manipulate trading in U.S. dollars and euros. UBS Group AG alsopleaded guilty to a related charge.