Banking Sector Roundup July 30th 2013 – A Difficult Day For A Number Of Banks

By Author: Harver Group
Total Articles: 26
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Jul. 31, 2013 - CHUO-KU, Japan -- Major banks across the global are having legal and financial difficulties including; JP Morgan, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank. A division of JP Morgan Chase & Co. known as JP Morgan Ventures Energy Corporation has been fined $410 million by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for allegedly manipulating electricity markets. The firm will pay $285 million in civil penalties and a disgorgement of $125 million in unjust profits. As per the terms of the agreement the division admits to the facts but does not admit or deny the violations. The charges are related to markets in the Midwest and California from September 2010 to November 2012. Investigators alleged that JP Morgan Ventures Energy Corporation was involved in 12 manipulative bidding strategies.

Britain´s second largest bank, Barclays PLC is contesting charges from the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulator is investigating fees that the bank paid to Qatar during a $10.7 billion fund raising effort that helped the bank avoids a bailout. The Financial Conduct Authority is investigating if Barclays legally disclosed fees paid ...
... to the Qatar Investment Authority. Four current and former employees are being investigated including Finance Director Chris Lucas.

The largest bank in continental Europe, Deutsche Bank AG´s profit was nearly halved due to setting aside $796 million for legal costs. The bank is involved in a number of court cases, it is a defendant in civil suits as an issuer of mortgage-backed securities, it is also charged with tax evasion in carbon markets, and they have been accused of manipulating the interbank lending rates. Deutsche Bank along with three other firms were convicted in Milan of fraud in the sale of derivatives. CEO Anshu Jain stated that he expects settlements to accelerate in coming quarters but declined to elaborate.