Citigroup Inc. confirmed that it could plead guilty to an
antitrust charge as part of a settlement with the Justice
Department over accusations that the bank's traders rigged
foreign-exchange rates.
The bank also said, in a regulatory filing Monday, that it is in
"active discussions" with the Justice Department over settling the
foreign-exchange accusations.
Citigroup and other big banks have been accused of manipulating
foreign-exchange trading to their own advantage, sometimes at the
expense of clients, and a settlement with the Justice Department
had been expected.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Citigroup, as
well as Barclays PLC, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Royal Bank of
Scotland Group, are expected to plead guilty to criminal antitrust
charges as part of any settlement with the Justice Department. This
is the first time that Citigroup has acknowledged that it might
plead guilty.
Citigroup has previously acknowledged that the Justice
Department was looking into its foreign-exchange business. J.P.
Morgan Chase & Co. said last week that it is in "advanced
stages" of discussions with the Justice Department and the Federal
Reserve over a foreign-exchange settlement.
Citigroup and other banks settled with some British and U.S.
regulators in November over similar accusations, with Citigroup
paying about $1 billion total to the U.K.'s Financial Conduct
Authority and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency in the U.S. The banks didn't
have to admit guilt in those settlements.
Write to Christina Rexrode at christina.rexrode@wsj.com
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