UniCredit risks EU antitrust fine

UniCredit is one of eight European banks that risk being fined by the European Commission for allegedly breaching EU competition rules, the Italian lender has said.

The company said in a statement that an eventual fine would be “subject to a statutory maximum of 10% of the company’s annual worldwide turnover” but added that it considered the prospect of it having to pay out “not likely”.

Italy’s biggest lender UniCredit said it is among a group of banks accused of running a cartel in trading euro zone government bonds between 2007 and 2012, years when financial crises dragged down banks and several European countries.

UniCredit made the disclosure at the request of Italy’s market watchdog, CONSOB, more than two months after the European Commission revealed that some traders at eight unnamed banks had exchanged commercially sensitive information and coordinated trading strategies in euro-denominated bond.

Via Reuters